Xcb tracking devices, methods and systems

ABSTRACT

XCB poly-radio devices as finders, locators, scanners, sensors, and radio topology reporters. XCB devices function as “smart objects” in the TOT and combine transceivers operating in the telecommunications and the low power ISM radio spectra, with default power management setting overrides under local control of a Bluetooth modem controller, and can be authenticated on a variety of local area networks (LANs), personal area networks (PANs), piconets and cellular networks. Finding, wayfinding, tracking, scanning, locating and proximity monitoring are provided as complementary services supplemented by a Bluetooth Proximity Locator Services Toolkit, Cellular Remote Locator Services Toolkit, and a “Tap-2-Connect” community-supported on-demand lost-and-found data or voice link between an owner and a passerby who finds a lost smart object. Data logging of local sensor data and ISM radio “pollution” enables provisioning of the physical web, piconets, tracking minders, geofences, living maps, walk-up computing, and “proximity avoidance tools” such as useful for wireless security and viral prophylaxis. The devices may include a user interface for communications and natural language voice control and optionally also include a display and video interface, with or without camera.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/163,403 titled “XCB Tracking Device, Methods and Systems” filed 30Jan. 2021, which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/575,315 titled “Bluecell Devices and Methods” filed 18 Sep.2019, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) from U.S. Prov.Pat. Appl. No. 62/732,945 titled “Hybrid Cellular Beacon Devices” filed18 Sep. 2018; and is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/950,666 titled “Hybrid Cellular Bluetooth Tracking Devices,Methods and Systems” filed 17 Nov. 2020, which claims the benefit under35 U.S.C. § 119(e) from U.S. Prov. Pat. Appl. No. 63/108,843 titled“Hybrid Cellular Bluetooth Tracking Devices, Methods and Systems”, filed2 Nov. 2020, and from U.S. Prov. Pat. Appl. No. 63/114,464, titled“Hybrid Cellular Bluetooth Tracking Devices, Methods and Systems”, filed16 Nov. 2020 and U.S. Prov. Pat. Appl. No. 62/936,588 titled “FinderDevices and Systems with Location Notifier Control Interface”, filed 17Nov. 2019.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/163,403 further claims the benefitunder 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Prov. Pat. Appl. No. 62/968,105, titled“Private Wireless Network Communications Systems, Methods and Devices,filed 30 Jan. 2020.

This application is further related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/301,236 filed 10 Jun. 2014 titled “Tracking Device System”, now U.S.patent Ser. No. 10/580,281 and to U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/777,815 titled “Cellular Devices, Systems and Methods for LogisticsSupport”, filed 30 Jan. 2020, now U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/592,849. Allsaid patent documents are incorporated in full by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Multiband radio devices, methods and systems for wayfinding, networkingand location services.

BACKGROUND

An ad hoc radio network and standard for data and voice sharing was longenvisaged but has not yet been successfully integrated into the 5G radioaccess network (RAN) on which the Internet is built. In a first effortat universal connectivity, “Citizens Band” (CB) radio was created in theUnited States in 1945 for wireless short range messaging and remotecontrol at 26.9 to 27.4 MHz. However, the standard was not widelyadopted and today, CB radio finds only limited use; for example as“Channel 19” in vehicle-mounted walkie-talkies. The Zigbee radiostandard is another example that has had a limited following. But morerecently, Bluetooth radio has become an explosive success, and nowboasts more than 40 billion devices worldwide—with 5B new devices ormore shipping annually. There are more BT radios on the planet thanpeople.

At this time, Bluetooth (BT) radios do not provide direct access to theInternet, and despite the efforts of Internet founder Tim Berners-Lee,Personium Project Manager Akio Shimono, and Center for Human Technologyco-founder Tristan Harris, among many others, the Internet remains aprivate conglomerate directed primarily at monetization of data; with nocore toolset for human-centric personal control of that data. Therecently released Bluetooth Low Energy protocol (BTLE) has added newlimitations that teach away personal control and favor Telecomm utilitycontrol. Major manufacturers have committed to a “handset-centric model”in which the “center device” (also termed the “master”) is atelecomm-supplied smartphone with by-subscription service, encryptionand restricted access except for emergency calls (eCall and CMAS). Thisbias toward centralized control of data and connectivity has beenrevenue driven, and aligns with “connectivity-by-subscription” trends insocial media that promote private monetization of the public airwaves.Both iOS and Android still allow developers a window within which totransmit BTLE advertising packets in an open mesh network, but thepeer-to-peer open discovery envisaged by the Bluetooth Special InterestGroup (SIG) is not supported by recent editions of iOS or Android forcellular handsets. The intent is instead to limit open connectivity to abrief window in which a new device is discovered and claimed by ahandset, headset or other class of “master” device. This bias has alsonot realized the potential of the 2009 release (WiFi 4, IEEE 802.11nstandard) of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz ISM bands for single and dual band WiFiand BT radio use, including BT 5.0 and beyond.

This bias will handicap efficient use of 5G national criticalinfrastructure by limiting the mesh network connectivity beneath theSIM-authenticated radio access network (RAN) layer. A new platform isneeded that grafts devices having SIM-authenticated connectivity withthe capacity to connect to or at least monitor open peer-to-peernetworks in both a credentialed and uncredentialed way. What Bluetoothoffers in sheer number of deployed devices is balanced by their limitedrange—typically no more than a distance of about 100 meters at 0 dBm.BTLE 5+ offers 20 dBm in some countries, but increasing use ofoverlapping WiFi results in increasing packet error rate at greaterdistances despite forward error correction and other innovations. Thusthe intimacy of Bluetooth in local areas is helpful in informingproximity-driven applications but is a critical limitation when locationand data services must be provided over greater distances.

In some instances, even more intimacy is needed, and higher wavelengths(in the 6 to 10+ GHz UWB range) provide a needed short range andspecificity in making connections based on proximity, such as fordirected wireless transfer of files. Very short range transmissionsensure a reasonable level of privacy and specificity in makingconnections, and can be used to bootstrap other wireless connectionssuch as WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax to build sensor nets or complete largerdata transfers by allowing for exchange of encryption keys without alikelihood of interception. The “tap-to-pay” system of NFC (near fieldcommunications) radio is another example of very short range radioauthentication and credentials transfer, and also is used to bootstrapmore robust ISM wireless connections for larger data transfer.

Recently proposed THz bands for “body-area networks” also seem to offera fusion of biometrics and nano-area radio networks, all of which canrelieve some of the congestion in the increasingly crowded 2.45 and 5GHz radio spectra.

The deployment of 5G and 6G radio networks is bringing increasedcomplexity and variety to radio use. The backbone of 4G and 5G systemsfor most users has been the cellular broadband network that supportsvoice and mixed media communications as well as data. Access to thissystem is tightly controlled by authenticating of users based on an IMSI(International Mobile Subscriber Identity) physically encoded in thesubscription identifier module (SIM card) in every cellular device. Butthe need for security comes at the cost of energy consumption, whichlimits the field life of detached cellular radio devices. The bulkycellular handsets carry large, heavy batteries and are easily dropped.More than 50M phone screens are cracked every year in the United Statesalone, according to a 2018 report.

An improved radiotag and system would enable owners to expect and torealize an extraordinary level of power management sophistication whileenabling both long distance and short range location management tools,including finding, wayfinding, and tracking. Power management must be sostringent, for example, that an owner can attach a radio device to a petor other asset, and be able to track the signal over long distances ifthe asset goes missing weeks or months later—while having adequatebroadcast range and no unacceptable latency or dead time. The advantagewould be a single solution that allows an owner to interact with a lostradiotag, or for example to interact with any passersby who encountersthe radiotag in order to enlist their help, for example a lost child atan airport in need of being reunited with a parent. A solution to thiscomplex problem has not been achieved with conventional radiotags todate.

SUMMARY

An unmet need exists for a hybrid XCB radio device and platform that hasthe intimacy and ubiquity of a BT piconet or mesh open network, but alsothe power to connect globally with the packet data backbone of LTE-Cat Mand emerging cellular and WLAN 5G networks. A new platform is introducedthat combines BT “situational awareness” for power management andsecurity with a capacity to report and make connections via the globalIP networks and their virtual private gateway cousins.

The new radio devices introduce BT radiotags with a capacity to scan andreport the BT radio topology associated with their current location,where “BT radio topology” includes BT radio traffic as an envelope ofpropagated digital radio signals broadly encompassing the BT spreadspectrum. Radio signals in the BT spread spectrum are treated asmeta-data by which ambient BT signals come to be recognized by machinelearning for patterns and signatures that are associated with location,activity, day, calendar, and any threat environment. Threat security forexample relates to detection of abnormal radio activity in a network andto use of BT signatures to detect session hijacking using“man-in-the-middle”, “replay”, “teardrop”, “ping-of-death”, malware, andbotnet attacks. Whereas hackers are increasingly sophisticated inexploiting code weaknesses to game network resources, steal credentialsor deny service, the hacker cannot readily mimic the “local color” of aknown BT radio topology that surrounds a genuine user who is familiar tothe system and in a safe and known location. Where the user's locationis not readily authenticated, and the system relies only on private andpublic keys for authentication, stopping an alien attack that originatesfrom foreign soil is difficult, but the sampling of BT radio topologyplus sensor biometrics may supplant the system of private and publickeys that lead to vulnerabilities in 5G networks, and also helps toestablish a decentralized system for storing and accessing personaldata.

Because BT relies on FSK radio modulation and has a specialized packetstructure, BT radio contact feeds cannot be directly transmitted to the5G radio access network (RAN), most of which operates with PSK radiomodulation. The RAN and CORE IP packeting environments define multipleunique packet types that have not been supported in BTLE standards. IPv6support over BLE with the adaptation of 6LoWPAN and Thread protocols canresult in a crossover from WLAN to BLE. IPv6 can be emulated overBluetooth Low Energy (BLE) as defined in RFC 7668 according to theInternet Engineering Task Force, for example. But this standard does notallow native BTLE transmissions to be routed onto the IP packet datanetworks. The devices described here map BTLE radio packets to astandardized database entry format or “radio contact record”, and thesedatabase records are shared as a sort of “snapshot” of the BT worldaround the originating device. This snapshot can be used forauthentication, but also finds a myriad of uses in provisioning newdevices, in erecting geofences, in wayfinding and locating, and inmaximizing throughput in the ISM spread spectrum by identifying pathwaysaround congestion. The snapshot may include 1280 octets or larger whentransmitted over WiFi or using the 6LoWPAN standard, but is assembledfrom smaller snippets extracted from the advertising packets and PDUs inthe intercepted radio traffic.

As disclosed here, these new radio devices are termed “crossovercellular Bluetooth” radios (XCB). XCB devices include at least aBluetooth (BT) radio modem and a cellular radio modem, with a processorwith supporting circuitry and power management features that default toa “sleep” mode for extended battery life. Synergically, by engineeringthe BT radio as part of the device controller and attaching a cellularmodem to the controller, the BT radio can be used as a “wake upreceiver” or “always listening radio” (ALR) for activating the cellularmodem. These poly-radio devices may also include one or more WiFiradiosets in the ISM band and one or more of the WPAN radios such as forThread, 6LoWPAN, pulsed UWB, and so forth.

The bandwidth available for mesh BT and WiFi radio includes 2.4 and 5GHz and combines the 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ah/ax WiFi, 802.15.1-3 Bluetooth,and 802.15.4a/g WPAN radio standards. While this includes some sub-GHzbands, the other component of radio spectrum relevant here is theLTE/GSM/5G bands dedicated for telecommunications. BT standards mostrelevant are 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 (and continuing innovations) each of whichadds new complexity to the ISM bands.

In other embodiments, the poly-radio are provided with multi-bandantennas that satisfy communications needs over several disjoint radiobands, such as the LTE cluster, or dual-band WiFi, or a combinationantenna for LTE, Bluetooth and WiFi, for example. Fractal, PIFA,ceramic, stacked patch, diversity, and phased array antennas are alsoincluded. Electronically impedance matched receivers are also includedthat can jump from band to band depending on the transmission/receptionfeed. Radio antennas form a large segment of the patent literature, forexample U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,566 to Kane, U.S. Pat. No. 6,452,553 toCohen, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,148,850, 7,202,822 to Baliarda, U.S. Pat. No.8,456,365 to Pros, U.S. Pat. No. 9,000,985 to Baliarda, and U.S. Pat.No. 9,755,314 to Baliarda, for example. Also relevant are papers byHong, S S et al. 2012, Picasso, Flexible RF and Spectrum Slicing, In ACMSIGCOMM 42:37-48. Helsinki FI. [doi.org/10.1145/2377677.2377683] andHong, W et al. 2017. Multibeam Antenna Technologies for 5G WirelessCommunications. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 65:6231-6249 [doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2017.2712819].

Inexpensive “software-defined radio” chips are readily available. Wesuggest that the “synthetic radio” oscillators of XCB devices may alsoinclude a “software-defined antenna” that advantageously can be upgradedvia firmware rather than requiring new hardware, as will be increasinglyimportant with the proliferation of radio technologies to be implementedin 4G, 5G, 6G and user-defined networks. Given that most XCB devices arepowered to operate at less than 20 dBm, regulatory restrictions and SAR(biological exposure) considerations are minimal. Here we introduce asoftware-defined antenna that uses a programmable FET gate array toachieve impedance matching and beamforming in a hand-sized or wearabledevice.

While typically defaulted to sleep state for power savings, whenactivated, an XCB cellular modem can make a new cellular networkconnection or reestablish a network connection in a process genericallytermed here a “CALL HOME”. Any call home is at least a status update andoffers an opportunity to share a location fix with the network or toreceive network assistance in establishing a location fix. Location datais the key to many community services facilitated with XCB radiodevices.

XCB radiotags function in locating, tracking and monitoring lost orwayward objects, children or pets for example. In use, a radiotag isattached to a child, object or pet by an owner of the object, and canwirelessly report the radiotag's location from around the world or canmake itself found by emitting an audible alarm when misplaced out ofsight. Because XCB radiotags can self-initiate a call to an owner of aradiotagged asset, the owner is not strictly dependent on the goodnessof strangers to recover what is lost. Advantageously, the currentlocation can be displayed on the owner's smartphone for example, andupdated locations can be displayed as a series of waypoints that trackthe location of the lost child, object or pet until safely recovered.

Output from onboard sensors such as motion, electronic heading,photocell or body temperature sensors, or a combination of radio trafficsensor data and motion sensor data, for example, also can result in aCALL HOME if something is amiss. In another embodiment, the BT radiofunctions as a sensor that reports on the surrounding radio topology.Sensor data stored in memory may be shared in an uplink with thenetwork.

During radio contacts mediated by the system, the system may also sendnew instructions to the cellular radioset of an XCB device that willmodify its cellular wake cycling so that it can be tracked with frequentcellular updates. In some instances, the system will know that aradiotag is lost before the owner does.

Importantly, battery power is not wasted on useless cellular radioactivity before a relevant event occurs. In one embodiment, the lostradiotag may be activated by someone who comes across the lost child,asset or pet and presses a button or other activation switch on theradiotag. At that point, the radiotag begins a location determinationand a cellular broadcast. Because the radiotags include an LTE-Mcellular radio, location is readily determined by AGPS or othernetwork-assisted location service, and the location is readilytransmitted to a system administrative host, so that the system cangenerate a notification to the owner/subscriber, for example. The systemwill react promptly so that the radiotag can be reprogrammed tobroadcast in an “active-tracking mode” for a period of several weeks, oreven a month or more, using cellular eDRX power savings mode with wakeup for paging opportunities and location update, so that the system cangenerate a notification to the owner/subscriber and owner is able torecover the radiotag and attached asset.

BT radio control of power management over the processor(s) and dualradios enables extended portable operation of the devices in which theBT radio acts as a “wake up radio”. Carriers in the 5 to 11 GHz bandsmay also be employed for wake-up radio and bootstrapping of LANinterconnecting of peripherals and centrals, servers and clients, butthe digital packet structure of BT radio signals is compatible withdata, voice and video. With software-defined radio, a polyphony of radiointerconnections is achieved. Synthetic radio is used to sample thedigital radio envelope in the MHz and GHz bands, yielding an organicnetwork of community monitoring devices with a high level of“situational awareness” to prevent spread of spyware and malicioussoftware and to offer services such as location finding, wayfinding, anddetection of a lost or left behind item before the owner knows the itemis lost, for example.

As an introductory consumer product, for recovery of a lost item, eachradiotag or device can include a speaker or LED that can be activatedremotely, for example a beeper that emits an audible tone, or a speakerthat interacts with nearby persons, to aid in locating it whenmisplaced. For more privacy, a display screen can be used to guide theuser back to the lost item. Our proximity locator toolbox is active to100 meters or more. When used with these poly-radio radiotags, the cloudhost combines global cellular and BT networks into a highly granularwide area network for finding lost pets, children and wayward assetsgenerally with meter resolution on a minimal energy budget. A syntheticradio chipset with multiple antennas, diversity antennas, or “on demand”multiband antennas enables an economy of manufacture and the flexibilityto be wirelessly upgraded to improved performance configurations or newfeatures.

In more advanced consumer products, a display or voice interface may beprovided to map the lost item in a virtual topology of landmarks andvectors and to provide distances and directional cues that speed itsrecovery.

BT radios may be configured to operate in one or more low power BT-radiostates, and include a passive “always listening” mode where activetransmissions are suspended. BT devices will transition from standby toan active BT-radio awake mode in response to a qualified BT radio signalor traffic pattern, for example, or will actively scan for and respondto inquiry scan requests and connection requests. When the BT radio isin passive “always listening” mode, the BT radio may report interceptedradio traffic to its modem and even populate a flash memory databasewith a rolling stack of records that constitute a “snapshot” ofsurrounding radio activity, while not actively responding to the radiosignals. In active mode, the BT radio may solicit responses or mayactively respond to inquiries from other BT radios.

BT radio traffic may include actionable qualified BT radio signals andnon-qualified BT radio signals. Both qualified and non-qualified BTradio signals are part of the BT radio topology around a BT radio thatmay intercepted when the BT radio is in “always listening” mode.

By adjustments to the duty cycle, XCB devices spend a significant amountof time in sleep mode—but because of the low latency, in practical usethey appear to be “always listening radios” (ALR). A qualified radiosignal addressed to the BT radio will wake the BT processing circuitry,or can wake a cellular or WLAN radio if needed. Cellular, WLAN or PLANnetwork connectivity may include IP packet data connections that enablefull global-area network (Internet) communications, M2M remoteactivation, or interaction with a cloud host, for example.

The cellular radio transceiver is configured to cycle between at leastone cellular-radio sleep mode and a cellular-radio awake mode. The radiowill transition from the cellular-radio sleep mode to a cellular-radioawake mode in a paging window, or when an internal connection request isgenerated. A qualified radio signal addressed to the cellular modemincludes a cellular radio unit identifier and is transmitted in a pagingwindow on a cellular network for which authentication has been made andaccess has been granted.

But once awakened, either radio will receive and convey radio commandsto the processing circuit(s), commands that are executed while thedevice is in the processing-circuit awake mode before reverting to itsdefault sleep mode. The processing circuit is enabled to cycle between aprocessing-circuit sleep mode and a processing-circuit awake mode inresponse to activity from the BT radio, the cellular radio, from anonboard sensor, or according to machine intelligence.

Lightweight XCB devices are rapidly achieving success as wearables andas radiotags for attachment to assets, pets and even children. Embeddedembodiments have been realized. By tapping into the power of BT andcellular networks to do positioning and proximity mapping, the trackingand finding of radiotagged objects becomes simple and doable fromanywhere with a basic package. Voice user interface functions bring anintimacy to 5G networks that permeates the IoT and a universal userinterface is achieved with a microphone and speaker as part of an XCBradio device.

The radiotag devices may also include a user interface for voicemessaging as part of a voice control package. The user interface mayinclude a switch to activate an “on demand” location fix andcommunication package useful in child, asset or pet location servicesand recovery. For example, smart systems enable alerts, messaging, mapsand mixed media support with “community open arbors” system access forlocation, wayfinding and proximity management services.

It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings andexamples are for illustration and description only and are not intendedas a definition of the limits of the inventions. The various elements,features, steps, and combinations thereof that characterize aspects ofthe inventions are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexedto and forming part of this disclosure. The invention(s) do notnecessarily reside in any one of these aspects taken alone, but ratherin the invention(s) taken as a whole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present invention(s) are more readily understood byconsidering the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a networked system with XCB radiotag 10, reference hub20, user equipment 30, and cloud host(s). A CALL HOME 1 is depicted.

FIG. 2A is a sketch of a first XCB device 10 containing a Bluetooth andcellular radio pair with button switch on a keychain. In these drawings,signals from the radios are indicated by concentric arcs that connoteelectromagnetic waves, wider for cellular radio signals C and narrowerfor BT radio signals B.

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a first XCB radiotag 10 with button andkeychain.

FIG. 2C is a CAD view of a second XCB device.

FIG. 3 is a view of an alternate XCB device with pocket user interface.

FIG. 4 is a view of a card-sized wallet device with basic userinterface.

FIG. 5A is a view of an XCB radiotag with annulet for mounting on achain or link.

FIG. 5B is a view of a sealed XCB device having a disc shape.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are plan and perspective views of an XCB radiotag withuser interface.

FIG. 6C is a network schematic showing an XCB radiotag 10 and cloudhost(s) in a combined BT and cellular global network 1110.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are schematics of alternate dual-radio XCB deviceembodiments.

FIG. 8A is a view of power states of a BT radio showing multiple sleepand standby states with functional modularization of power consumption.An “always listening” mode or state is defined.

FIG. 8B is a view of power states of a cellular modem according to a 5Gnetwork standard.

FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are views comparing and contrasting BT and cellularlocalization strategies. Depicted are a Bluetooth Proximity LocatorServices Toolkit and a Cellular Remote Locator Services Toolkit.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart for driving location management logic and powerconsumption using motion sensor data from a radiotag and a smartphone.The concept of a “safe zone” is introduced.

FIG. 12 illustrates a common problem encountered in tracking lostassets, here a “dropped keys” scenario.

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate an analysis and systems approach to a “lostdog” scenario.

FIGS. 14A, 14B and 14C illustrates a radiotag solution to proximitymonitoring and avoidance for vehicles and wildlife.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are views of location tracking applications using safezones. FIG. 15C extends the concept of a mobile radio safe zone asrelate to pet location monitoring services.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are views of a “reference hub”, shown here with aUSB-A male power fitting for plugging into a wall adaptor, for examplein a home.

FIG. 17 is a schematic describing circuitry of a reference hub withBluetooth and WiFi radios in a network context.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart for driving location management logic and powerconsumption using motion or heading sensor and radio proximity datacollected by a reference hub.

FIG. 19 is a view of power management in an XCB device in which the BTradio modem in listening-only state controls wake pin of an attachedcellular radio modem; by-passing the core processor.

FIGS. 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, and 20E are sample views of digital signalformat of advertising packets of various radiobeacon standard types.Open and proprietary standards are compared.

FIG. 21 is a generic view of a BT digital radio packet structure.

FIGS. 22A, 22B and 22C are sample packet structures that relate to theBT advertising and link layers.

FIG. 23 is a more detailed view of a BT advertising packet anddemonstrates how data having characteristics of location and proximitycan be extracted from an advertising packet to build a radio contactrecord.

FIG. 24 is a view of a BT connection request packet and demonstrates howlocation and proximity characteristics can be extracted from aconnection request packet to build a radio contact record.

FIGS. 25 and 26 show how a multirecord payload of a log of radiocontacts may be structured.

FIG. 27 is a view of a containerized portable memory record thatcomprises a “snapshot” or “log” of radio contact records.

FIG. 28 demonstrates how a “radio envelope snapshot” is used inassessing situational awareness in a system context.

FIG. 29 illustrates a series of radio envelope snapshots in achronology.

FIG. 30 is a view of a rolling memory stack containing radio contactrecords in flash memory of an XCB radiotag.

FIG. 31 is a schematic of another embodiment of an XCB device.

FIG. 32 is a block diagram view of an XCB radiotag and a global areanetwork with cellular network, Bluetooth network, and a cloud host. Thesystem includes voice and display capability for cellular and Bluetoothvoice and data networking.

FIGS. 33A and 33B are views of an XCB radiotag with LED Dot ArrayDisplay configured for “banner” message display and with capacity forsimple inquiries and responses using tactile switches on the frontpanel.

FIGS. 34A and 34B show the XCB device that includes a OLED displayscreen for video graphics,

FIG. 35 is a view of an XCB device worn as a wrist strap that functionsas a location and wayfinding monitor and as a messaging center.

FIG. 36 is a schematic of an XCB device having voice and displaycapability for cellular and BT voice and data networking.

FIGS. 37A, 37B and 37C are plan and elevation views of an XCB radiotagfor subscription services.

FIG. 37D is a screenshot listing exemplary features accessible for XCBradiotag users.

FIG. 37E provides a screenshot of the tracking application on asmartphone

FIG. 38 shows a flow chart for the steps of a Tap-2-Connect foundrecovery operation effected by a cloud host in cooperation with an XCBradiotag and the smartphone of a passerby.

FIG. 39 is a view of an ensemble of XCB radiotags with a smartphone on aQi charging pad.

FIGS. 40A and 40B show a map with a shipping route and a plot oftemperature data reported by a data logger device during a cross-countryshipment.

FIG. 41 is an oscilloscope image of instantaneous power consumptionduring a connection event followed by a series of paging opportunitiesin one of the DRX modes of the cellular modem.

The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale. Certain features orcomponents herein may be shown in somewhat schematic form and somedetails of conventional elements may not be shown in the interest ofclarity, explanation, and conciseness. The drawing figures are herebymade part of the specification, written description and teachingsdisclosed herein.

Glossary

The following definitions supplement those set forth elsewhere in thisspecification. Certain meanings are defined here as intended by theinventors, i.e., they are intrinsic meanings. Other words and phrasesused herein take their meaning as consistent with usage as would beapparent to one skilled in the relevant arts. In case of conflict, thepresent specification, including definitions, will control.

Certain terms are used throughout the following description to refer toparticular features, steps or components, and are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation. As one skilled in the art willappreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature, step orcomponent by different names. Components, steps or features that differin name but not in structure, function or action are consideredequivalent and not distinguishable, and may be substituted in theconcepts disclosed herein without departure from the inventive content.

“Bluetooth Radio” or “BT radio”—includes “Bluetooth Low Energy” (BTLE),“Bluetooth Classic”, and “Bluetooth Dual Mode” (BTDM) radio. BT radiosshare signals with other BT radios in an open, shared ISM band between2.400 and 2.483 GHz. A spread spectrum with frequency hopping is used toreduce interference. The operational frequency band is split intochannels spaced by increments of 1 MHz or 2 MHz. Digital data istransmitted by GFSK (Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying) in which a binary“one” is modulated as an increased frequency and a binary “zero” as adecreased frequency, or by DPSK (Differential Phase Shift Keying) asknown in the art. Frequency modulation ensures a constant amplitudeenvelope around the signal that allows higher RF amplification, andachieves a satisfactory bit error rate and tolerance to interferencewhile at low power. DPSK achieves higher data rates. Robust repeat anderror correction including CRC, ARQ, or other checksum support functionsis combined with whitening techniques known to improve fidelity at lowpower.

In short, BT is designed for short range, robust, low power transmissionand reception—with a built in promiscuity that enables easy interactionsbetween newly discovered devices with minimal setup and requiringessential no dedicated connections. The magic of BT piconets is in asystem of access codes that are part of the packet/header structure.Details are described in the Bluetooth Core Specification, originallypublished in 1999, with periodic updates.

However, the BT standard also allows for BT radios to “belong” tocertain small networks, termed “piconets”, and for members of thosenetwork units recognize each other and quickly recover a state of moreintimate CONNECTED data exchange termed “pairing”—while not losing thecapacity to listen for other radio traffic and to respond selectively ornon-selectively when addressed non-specifically or specifically.

The original BT Specification also allows for BT devices to communicatein “scatternets” formed as loose and transient associations betweendevices operating in different piconets. Piconets may even share BTdevices in different scatternets. This capacity was limited in BTLE toconserve energy, but the capacity remains in the core specification andis included here in some embodiments. While less mainstream, researchhas also been conducted into mesh networks by which data moves fromscatternet to scatternet through internodal devices as relays. Thecapacity to modify the BT Specification to permit this, while preservingbackwards compatibility, is anticipated here, and the use of XCB devicesof this disclosure as internodes between piconets, scatternets and asmembers of mesh networks is, by intent, not precluded in futureapplications.

BT radio signals are formatted as packets. BT devices include packetcomposers and decomposers. BT radios also include correlators withregisters for sorting and identifying received signals based on accesscode or service, for example as described in US Pat. Publ. Nos.2002/048330 and 2009/0086711, which are incorporated herein for all theyteach and reference.

“Access codes” are part of a header that addresses BT radio traffic. Forexample, a general inquiry access code (GIAC) identifies trafficbroadcast to any listening device, and indicates a discoverable device.Other inquiry access codes may be directed to individual devices, suchas particular members of a piconet. The access code may be derived from,but is not the radio unit identifier of the transmitting device or theintended receiving device.

BT unique radio identifiers (RUI) or “radio signatures”, as used here,may be a MAC address of a BT radio device or may be a universal uniqueidentifier (UUID) or a part of a UUID, and may include a serialidentifier assigned by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (BluetoothSIG) as administered through the IEEE Standardization group (accessiblevia a WHOIS-style lookup). The RUI may also include a part number givenby the manufacturer. The SIG standard also permits developers to encodea “group identifier” or “community identifier” inside an extended uniqueidentifier (EUID) issued by the manufacturer, inside the BD_ADDR, orinside a Service UUID. Proxy identifiers such as service UUIDs link toservices associated with a discovered BT device. Identifiers may includepayload URLs and payload unique identifiers (UIDs) that identifyproprietary services. The payload may include frames or “values”containing more information. Payload information may include sub-type orlocation, advertising data, sensor output in digital form, and recordsof Bluetooth radio contacts, for example.

Service identifiers inform the radio of protocols to be followed insending or receiving data, and allow developers to create tools thatincorporate elements of the payload as “deep intent” triggers forsoftware applications. Advertising messages may include one or moreidentifiers and service UUIDs, for example. Other messages may notprovide sufficient information to identify all services associated witha device, but a qualified BT receiver can respond to obtain moreinformation without actually connecting.

For example, identifiers in a message actuate protocols in receiving BTradios that can wake smart devices, direct a smart device to a URL, pusha notification to a remote device, or pull attachments from cloudlibrary resources, for example. A smart device can receive Bluetoothradio traffic from any Bluetooth device in radio proximity, and forwardthat traffic to an IP address associated with a Bluetooth group orcommunity, after adding a timestamp or a location stamp. By doing so,the smart device serves as a “hub” to transfer Bluetooth traffic radiocontact records to the broader cellular network (or vice versa),enabling a host of location-driven services that can be modifiedaccording to sensor data.

Many devices broadcast their RUI or MAC address in the open, or inresponse to a SCAN REQUEST. A class of “BT Sniffers” may detect theseaddresses and compile stacks of addresses and device names as BT trafficmetrics. Devices may also be recognized by the services they advertise.For dedicated peripheral devices, a client application can scan fordevices offering services or features associated with a UUID thatspecifies the GATT services the BT device supports, and in fullCONNECTION, data specific to a service or feature can be transmittedacross the connection.

The RUI address can be an advertising address, a device address, adedicated address of a piconet device, a virtual address, or asubscriber address, as is useful in mesh networks and for creatingwhitelists. Some address standards are open, others are proprietary orare obfuscated to prevent BT snooping.

In recent trends, BT signal payloads may include URLs that link thedevice to the physical web. Alternatively a community identifier istransmitted in a message as part of a header, routing address, orpayload that when recognized by packet decomposer in a receiving device,causes the message to be forwarded to an IP Address and associated cloudhost. This approach has enabled community lost-and-found services suchas described in US Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2016/0294493) which isincorporated in full by reference. These community lost and foundservices may be facilitated by offering a gratuity to any smartphoneoperators who install the needed software and enroll in a community openarbors “lost-and-found” network. Because the “found notifications” aremade when a BT signal of a lost smart object is discovered, and theremaining uplink and reporting is done automatically in background onthe smartphone, the process entails little or no effort by participatingcommunity members but serves a valuable need to reunite lost assets withtheir true owners. A found notification is generated when a Bluetoothradio transmission that includes the unique radio unit identifierassociated with the lost smart object and a community identifier or URLis intercepted by the smartphone or XCB radio tag of a community member;said found notification being forwarded to a cloud administrative hostassociated with the community identifier or URL.

The radio header and payload may also include resource identifiers thatdirect communications protocols in the link layer and activate softwareapplications keyed to the resource identifiers. This approach is seenfrequently with smartphones—installed Apps react in real time to BTtransmissions. For example, a received BT transmission can wake up asleeping device (US Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2020/0242549), which isincorporated here by reference. More recently, data supplied in thefields or payload of a BT transmission can cause an App to be installed,or if the App is installed and the appropriate permissions are in place,the App can be run at a particular instance in the program as mostrelevant to contextual clues in the received BT signal. This is termed“deep intent” to indicate that the App anticipates the user's thoughtprocess and causes the client smartphone to display the most relevantmaterials from a resource or takes an appropriate action in anticipationof the need. More recently the process has been extended to wallscreens, so that “walk up” computing is increasingly automated byinvisible BT radio transmissions that identify the user and guess theuser's intent from radio proximity or accelerometry data. For example,if a user picks up a shoe in a shoestore, a BT radiotag attached to theshoe will send a sensor output and a wall monitor will display moreinformation about the shoe, or push that information onto the user'ssmartphone.

In connected links, BT signals transmit data. Newer BT 5.0, 5.1 and 5.2standards permit multi-slot messages for sharing larger amounts ofinformation, even encoding of speech. Connectionless data sharing isalso supported in the newer protocols.

“Smart device” is defined by example. The most commonly recognized smartdevice is the ubiquitous cellphone or “smartphone” (also termed here a“handset”), having a user/subscriber interface, a powerful battery, acellular radio, highly advanced computational capacity, an operatingsystem, capacious memory for programs and “apps”, capacitive touchscreens, typically a BT radio, and commonly tens of sensors, all in apocket-sized device. However, laptops, PDAs, Google glasses, smart wristwatches, and any generally portable device with Internet connectivityand onboard processing power is commonly understood to be a “smartdevice” sensu lato. Smart devices are typically provided with a SIM cardwhen used in cellular telephonic radio communications and each suchdevice is given an IMSI identification number that points to oneparticular unique device and more generally is referred to as thecellular “radio unit identifier”. The XCB devices disclosed here mayalso have a BT manufacture's EUID, or a derivative thereof, possibly oneor more UUIDs in volatile or non-volatile memory, and a cellular IMSIand IMSI, in addition to any serial or lot number given by themanufacturer. The XCB radiotags may qualify as a “smart device” sensulato when operated as a platform with memory and computational power.

IMSI is an “international mobile subscriber identifier.”

IMEI is an “international mobile equipment identifier.”

eDRX abbreviates “extended discontinuous reception.”

PSM abbreviates “power savings mode.”

VPG is a Virtual Private Gateway.

RSSI abbreviates “received signal strength indicator”, which is anindication of incoming signal strength power or power present in anincoming radio signal and is commonly specified as an up to 8-bitunitless integer. RCPI is an improved version of RSSI, and stands for“received channel power indicator” and is logarithmic in dB, measuringtotal power received in a defined channel bandwidth at the antennaconnector. A more general characteristic is “path loss” which relates toradiation power (dBm) minus RSSI (dBm). Transmission power is specifiedin some beacon signals, which allows a well-defined estimation of rangeby use of a path loss calculation. Other variants of RSSI exist, and thedefinition given here is intended to broadly encompass all suchindicators of received signal strength regardless of the details of theindicium. A method provided in U.S. Pat. No. 8,879,993 provides forbidirectional exchange of signal strength to better establish proximity.The BT chip includes DC compensation that is active during receiving ofthe preamble (first 8 bits) of a BT message, and that function outputsthe RSSI.

“Timestamp” is a temporal tag given to a data record. Timestamping is anautomated function performed as a background service in most smartdevices. Timestamps should be standardized as per ISO 8601 using YEAR,MONTH (MM), DAY (DD), followed by HHMMSS.SSS to specify milliseconds,and optionally as Zulu time (or with a specified offset for localtimezone or daylight savings) for best practice.

The capacity of a device to timestamp data is dependent on its clockfunction and memory organization. Conventional Bluetooth radio tags donot provide their own timestamping (instead data is time-tagged by acompanion smart device or by a network host when data was received). Butthe XCB radiotags of the invention may actively timestamp data forstorage in local memory or prior to uploading the data. Timestamping maybe an integral process with geostamping.

“Geostamp” is a map tag given to a data record that generally indicatesthe location of a receiver of a transmission, but in some instances, thelocation may be a transmitter, as from a lighthouse radiobeacon. Inother instances the location of the receiver or the location of thetransmitter may be stored in a radio contact record. Each radio contactdetected is assigned to a record having a timestamp and geostamp inwhich the geostamp can be the host device location or the source devicelocation, for example. Related services are “location history” servicesoffered as part of the Android platform. Location is generally stored incoordinates given as latitude and longitude.

Geostamping can be an onboard function, much as a camera associates animage in memory with a location (determined by accessing GPS signals andby making a calculation of latitude and longitude; generally on adedicated chip included in the device for that purpose). Satellitelocation systems include GPS, BeiDou, the Indian Nav Satellite System(NAVIC), GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, DORIS, transmitting in L5 and S bands(1.1, 1.5, 1.6 and 2.4 GHz) for position, navigation and timing, forexample. Iridium and Starlink may degrade the quality of Satnav signalsin the L1 bands. Cellular network-assisted location services includeAGPS and PoLTE. Cloud host servers may further refine location accuracyusing aggregated data or by correlating PoLTE and GPS positioning, forexample. Bluetooth radiobeacons having known fixed locations can also beused to refine location, particularly in indoor environments, much as alighthouse marks a landmark place. Google supplies Eddystone and aProximity Beacon REST API that allows users to register a beacon withlocation (Lat/Long) and indoor floor level, for example, which iswiredly used to geotag commercial establishments and places of intereston the Google cloud.

A geostamp or “geotag” associated with a radio contact or sensor datarecord can be given by a XCB device if the device is provided withsatnav capability or with a processor enabled to receive and storelocation fixes from a network. The functions of geostamping andtimestamping can be coordinated, and can be synchronous or performedseparately, either or a single XCB device or at different network levelsduring network signal processing. Because discoverable BT devices revealinformation about the user's proximate location, an explicit permissionis often required in the device discovery process. But for someplatforms such as Android 8.0 (API level 26) or higher, the CompanionDevice Manager API gives a generic permission for registeredapplications to perform device discovery with location informationdisclosures.

“Sensor”—includes any device having a measurement function, eitherqualitative or quantitative, parametric or non-parametric. Sensors maymeasure physical properties such as temperature or motion. Sensorsoutput a digital signal to the processor indicative of the parameters ofthe physical properties. The XCB and BT devices of the system mayfunction as sensor tags that monitor and report local conditions to ahigher level network. Once uploaded, aggregated sensor data may be usedin generating a composite map of the local environment as has foundapplication in “crowdsourced functions” such as weather mapping, trafficmapping, and hazard anticipation. Other sensors measure and reportbackground noise level, particular sound patterns, radio traffic level,particular radio signals such as from Bluetooth beacons, and so forth.Sensors include photocells, radiation sensors, motion sensors, velocitysensors, accelerometers, jolt sensors, gyroscopic sensors, gesturesensors, gravitational sensors, heading sensors, magnetic sensors,compass sensors, clock sensors, switch open/closed sensors, vibrationsensors, audio-pattern-detection sensors, vehicle-performance sensors,biological-agent sensors, biochemical-agent sensors, pollution sensors,chemical-agent sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, windspeedsensors, pressure sensors, location sensors, proximity sensors, altitudesensors, smoke sensors, oxygen sensors, carbon-monoxide sensors,global-positioning-satellite sensors, relative-radio-signal-strengthsensors, and radio-traffic sensors, for example. Sensors may be providedas packages having multiple sensors or individually. Sensors packageshaving audio sensors, such as a microphone or diaphragm, may includesome level of acoustic-pattern-matching capability embedded in thesensor package. In some embodiments, a sensor is a combined 9-axismotion sensor and temperature sensor. In one preferred device, a sensoris an integrated package having an accelerometer, gyroscope, andmagnetometer for each axis. In some instances, the sensor package isincorporated into a processor or an integrated circuit. Alsocontemplated are sensors for gases such as methane, CO, CO₂, NOX, CBDvehicle performance indicia, QR sensors, aerosol particulate levels,history of sub-zero temperature, history of product over-temperature,analytes such as chemical or biological substances, and the like. Moregenerally some sensors can detect biological agents, biochemical agents,and/or chemical agents for example. Sensor data may be stored in arolling sensor data log.

“Electronic heading sensors” are solid state devices that combine a3-axis magnetometer with a 3-axis accelerometer and rate gyroscope thatare integrated with a processor for establishing magnetic heading evenwhen the magnetometer is not level with the horizon. The heading sensorsmay also report turns and tilts.

MEMS-based motion sensors include an accelerometer and a gyroscope. Anaccelerometer can be used to measure linear acceleration. The physicalmechanisms underlying MEMS-based accelerometers include capacitive,piezoresistive, electromagnetic, piezoelectric, ferroelectric, opticaland tunneling. MEMS-based accelerometers can be simple devicesconsisting of a cantilever beam with a predetermined test mass (alsoknown as proof mass seismic mass). Under the influence of externalaccelerations, the mass deflects from its neutral position. Thisdeflection is measured in an analog or digital manner. Commonly, thecapacitance between a set of fixed beams and a set of beams attached tothe proof mass is measured. MEMS-based accelerometers generally operatein-plane, that is, they are designed to be sensitive only to a directionof the plane of the die. By integrating two devices perpendicularly on asingle die a two-axis accelerometer can be made. By adding an additionalout-of-plane device, three axes can be measured. Accelerometers withintegral electronics offer readout electronics and self-test capability.

A compass is an instrument used for determining direction relative tothe earth's magnetic pole. It consists of a magnetized pointer free toalign itself with the earth's magnetic field. Miniature compasses areusually built out of two or three magnetic field sensors, for exampleHall sensors, that provide data for a microprocessor. The correctheading relative to the compass is calculated using trigonometry. Often,a miniature compass is a discrete component which outputs either adigital or analog signal proportional to its orientation. This signal isinterpreted by a controller or microprocessor. The compass can usehighly calibrated internal electronics to measure the response of thecompass to the earth's magnetic field. Examples of miniature compassesavailable in the marketplace include the HMC1051Z single-axis and theHMC1052 two-axis magneto-resistive sensors sold by HoneywellInternational Inc., the AK8973 3-axis electronic compass sold by AsahiKasei Microdevices Corporation, and the AMI 201 (2-axis) and the AMI 302(3-axis) electronic compass modules sold by Aichi Micro IntelligentCorporation of Japan.

A gyroscope is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation,based on the principles of conservation of angular momentum. MEMS-basedgyroscopes use vibrating proof masses. Those masses typically vibrate ata high frequency. As the sensor housing rotates in inertial space aCoriolis force is induced on the proof mass. The Coriolis force causes avibration in an orthogonal plane and the amplitude of the orthogonalmotion can be measured. This type of device is also known as a Coriolisvibratory gyro because as the plane of oscillation is rotated, theresponse detected by the transducer results from the Coriolis term inits equations of motion (“Coriolis force”). A vibrating structuregyroscope can be implemented as a tuning fork resonator, a vibratingwheel or a wine glass resonator using MEMS technology.

Accelerometers, compasses and gyroscopes can be used to detect movementwhen a direction or speed of movement changes and are termed moregenerally as a class, “movement sensors” or “heading sensors”, and arecontrasted with the more limited motion sensors that rely strictly onaccelerometry.

Sensors also include radio devices designed to detect radio traffic,such as a “ping” from a proximate radio device. Such sensors may detectreceived radio signal strength. Other sensors may be GPS sensors havinga function of fixing a location in present time, and may by combinedwith other data such as by registering a radio contact, a sensor datumwith a time stamp and a geostamp. Sensor or location data may be sent inreal time without timestamp by the transmitting device, or may berecorded in a memory with a timestamp for later transmission. Sensordata may be stored in a rolling sensor data log.

Sensors may function as triggers when linked to an enabled machinehaving instructions for receiving and acting on a sensor output value,where the remote machine is linked to the sensor through a networkhaving at least one node and at least one cloud host server, and where aconditional rule has been set up so that sensor data value(s) or trendsmay be logically evaluated, for example as greater or less than athreshold value defined by a rule and associated with a conditionalexecutable function. Self-reporting of machine state, such as reportinga low battery level, is also included in the scope of contextualawareness supported by sensor data sensu lato. Preferred sensors areminiaturized so that they may be co-housed with the radio controller andencoder module and sensor activity is controlled to reduce power draw.

“Media” as used to store or transport information generally includes anymedia that can be accessed by a computing device. “Computer-readablemedia” may include computer storage media, wired and wirelesscommunication media, or any combination thereof. Additionally,computer-readable media typically embodies computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other memorycontaining data. Data also may be stored or transmitted in a modulateddata signal such as a carrier wave, data signal, or other transportmechanism and includes any information delivery media. The terms“modulated data signal,” and “carrier-wave signal” include a signal thathas one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manneras to encode information, instructions, data, and the like, in thesignal. By way of example, communication media includes wireless mediasuch as acoustic, radio frequency, infrared, and other wireless media,and wired media such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, fiber optics, waveguides, and other wired media.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system,”or the like can, but need not, refer to a computer-related entity,either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. For example, a component might be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on acontroller and the controller can be a component. One or more componentscan reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a componentcan be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers.

“Remote machine”—may be what is termed here an “effector machine”,indicating that the machine executes a physical transformation, such asa garage door opener, or what is termed here an “actuation device” moregenerally, indicating that the device may be a display for displayingcontent to a user/subscriber, or may be enabled to transmit or broadcastto other machines and to recruit other machines and devices to actuateperformance of designated functions.

A “server” refers to a software engine or a computing machine on whichthat software engine runs, and provides a service or services to aclient software program running on the same computer or on othercomputers distributed over a network. A client software programtypically provides a user/subscriber interface and performs some or allof the processing on data or files received from the server, but theserver typically maintains the data and files and processes the datarequests. A “client-server model” divides processing between clients andservers, and refers to an architecture of the system that can beco-localized on a single computing machine or can be distributedthroughout a network or a cloud. Specialized servers are sometimestermed “Cloud Host” here and are used for operating the Internet and itsservices. The server may also serve the function of distributing an“Application” to devices in need thereof. Applications are intended toaugment the functionalities of the smart device on which they areinstalled and operated and may also be required to access supplementalresources or databases of the server. Typically, a user or “subscriber”will register with the server's administrator when downloading andinstalling an Application from the server.

By installing what are called “applications” on a smart device, adeveloper can add functionality, and for example can supply aninteractive display or graphical user interface (GUI) that permits theuser/subscriber to navigate through and customize programmable featuresof a Bluetooth or XCB device that has been paired to a smart device, forexample. In practice, an installable application can support a dashboardfor easy access to all the XCB and BT radiotag devices operated by auser/subscriber, for quick adjustments to setup, and for viewing maps orplots of sensor data with trendlines and threshold monitoring that willresult in automated actions taken by the system according to logic rulesprogrammed by the user. The GUI typically may also provide any neededprogramming tools and support for creating conditional rules, geofencedefinitions, and other user customizations. The user interface mayaccess a “user profile” stored locally or in a cloud host; the userprofile may include user identifiers, radio unit identifiers,conditional rules programmed by a user, geofence definitions, and logsof sensor data uplinked from a radiotag.

“Computer” means a virtual or physical computing machine that acceptsinformation in digital or similar form and manipulates it for a specificresult based on a sequence of instructions. “Computing machine” is usedin a broad sense, and may include logic circuitry having a processor,programmable memory or firmware, random access memory, and generally oneor more ports to I/O devices such as a graphical user interface, apointer, a keypad, a sensor, imaging circuitry, a radio or wiredcommunications link, and so forth. One or more processors may beintegrated into the display, sensor and communications modules of anapparatus of an embodiment, and may communicate with othermicroprocessors or with a network via wireless or wired connectionsknown to those skilled in the art. Processors are generally supported bystatic (programmable) and dynamic memory, a timing clock or clocks, anddigital input and outputs as well as one or more communicationsprotocols. Computers are frequently formed into networks, and networksof computers may be referred to here by the term “computing machine.” Inone instance, informal internet networks known in the art as “cloudcomputing” may be functionally equivalent computing machines, forexample.

“Processor” refers to a digital device that accepts information indigital form and manipulates it for a specific result based on asequence of programmed instructions. Processors are used as parts ofdigital circuits generally including a clock, random access memory andnon-volatile memory (containing programming instructions), and mayinterface with other digital devices or with analog devices through I/Oports, for example.

As used herein, the terms “infer” and “inference” generally refer to theprocess of reasoning about or inferring states of the system,environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured viaevents and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specificcontext or action, or can generate a probability distribution overstates, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, thecomputation of a probability distribution over states of interest basedon a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer totechniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set ofevents and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of newevents or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored eventdata, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporalproximity, and whether the events and data come from one or severalevent and data sources. Probabilistic inferences lead to predictions,and are an arm of artificial intelligence (AI).

General connection terms including, but not limited to “connected”,“attached,” “conjoined,” “secured,” and “affixed” are not meant to belimiting, such that structures so “associated” may have more than oneway of being associated. “Fluidly connected” indicates a connection forconveying a fluid therethrough. “Digitally connected” indicates aconnection in which digital data may be conveyed therethrough.“Electrically connected” indicates a connection in which units ofelectrical charge are conveyed therethrough.

Relative terms should be construed as such. For example, the term“front” is meant to be relative to the term “back,” the term “upper” ismeant to be relative to the term “lower,” the term “vertical” is meantto be relative to the term “horizontal,” the term “top” is meant to berelative to the term “bottom,” and the term “inside” is meant to berelative to the term “outside,” and so forth. Unless specifically statedotherwise, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and “fourth” are meantsolely for purposes of designation and not for order or for limitation.

Reference to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or an “aspect,” meansthat a particular feature, structure, step, combination orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment or aspect isincluded in at least one realization of the present invention. Thus, theappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” invarious places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment and may apply to multiple embodiments.Furthermore, particular features, structures, or characteristics of theembodiments may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments.

“Adapted to” includes and encompasses the meanings of “capable of” andadditionally, “designed to”, as applies to those uses intended by thepatent. In contrast, a claim drafted with the limitation “capable of”also encompasses unintended uses and misuses of a functional elementbeyond those uses indicated in the disclosure, referencing Aspex Eyewearv Marchon Eyewear 672 F3d 1335, 1349 (Fed Circ 2012). “Configured to”,as used here, is taken to indicate is able to, is designed to, and isintended to function in support of the inventive structures, and is thusmore stringent than “enabled to” or “capable of”.

As used herein, the terms “include” and “comprise” are usedsynonymously, the terms and variants of which are intended to beconstrued as non-limiting.

The words “exemplary” and “representative” are used here to mean servingas an example, instance, or an illustration. Any aspect or designdescribed herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather,illustrations and examples given are intended to present concepts in aconcrete fashion.

“Conventional” refers to a term or method designating that which isknown and commonly understood in the technology to which this inventionrelates.

It should be noted that the terms “may,” “can,′” and “might” are used toindicate alternatives and optional features and only should be construedas a limitation if specifically included in the claims. The variouscomponents, features, steps, or embodiments thereof are all “preferred”whether or not specifically so indicated. Claims not including aspecific limitation should not be construed to include that limitation.For example, the term “a” or “an” as used in the claims does not excludea plurality

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification andclaims that follow, the term “comprise” and variations thereof, such as,“comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open, inclusivesense—as in “including, but not limited to.”

The appended claims are not to be interpreted as includingmeans-plus-function limitations, unless a given claim explicitly evokesthe means-plus-function clause of 35 USC § 112 para (f) by using thephrase “means for” followed by a verb in gerund form.

A “method” as disclosed herein refers to one or more steps or actionsfor achieving the described end. Unless a specific order of steps oractions is required for proper operation of the embodiment, the orderand/or use of specific steps and/or actions may be modified withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Poly-radio XCB devices function as portable radiotags, hubs, sensors,and radio contact reporters with power management synergy. In a firstembodiment, the devices include a cellular modem with cellular radioantenna and cellular radio unit identifier (the cellular modem having awake mode and at least one power-savings mode), a Bluetooth (BT) radiotransceiver with antenna and BT radio unit identifier (the BT radiotransceiver having a wake mode, at least one sleep mode, and an “alwayslistening” standby mode); a processor and processor support circuitry.The processor support circuitry may include an alarm apparatus undercontrol of the processor. The processor also has at least one wake modeand at least one sleep mode. Also included is a power supply withportable source of DC current. The device is further characterized inthat following initialization, the cellular modem, the BT radiotransceiver, and the processor are operably linked to the supportcircuitry and power supply, and are all configured to cycle to a sleepmode or standby mode as a low-power default condition with the exceptionthat the BT radio receiver executes a listening mode at a duty cyclewith such low latency that it appears as an “always listening radio”.Generally, the processor is configured to cycle to a wake mode when oneof (i) the cellular radio or (ii) the BT radio detects a radio signalthat carries one or more symbols or frames that satisfy thecharacteristics of a “qualified wake signal”. A digital correlator maybe use to match the pattern of the incoming digital radio signal to arepertoire of qualified wake signals.

More generally, intercepted “qualified” BT radio signals may optionallybe actionable or may be responded to because they are intended for orare addressed to the particular receiver that is listening, whereas“non-qualified” radio traffic is not generally addressed to theparticular receiver but are intercepted incidentally by an “alwayslistening” BT radio on one of the advertising or data channels duringthe course of regular passive scanning. We distinguish signals thatconform to a model in which each signal has a sender and an intendedreceiver, from signals that may be broadcast in the open, and have bothintended and unintended receivers.

In other embodiments, the “qualified wake signal” may be a pattern thatemerges by meta-analysis of patterns in a fragment or fragments of BTradio traffic in the BT spread spectrum without a requirement for acoherent message structure or a specific addressee. ARQ, FEC, CRC,parity bit summation and other methods for ensuring reception fidelityare not actively enforced. Bit error rate BER may be assessedindirectly, but errors do not require correction. This non-stringent,connectionless meta-analysis is conducted in a passive listening modeand results in logging of radio contact data with timestamps. Achronology of “radio contact log data” is built up in a series ofsnapshots of radio traffic received by a radiotag. The interpretation ofthe patterns in the log data may include identification of segments ofBT digital signals that are characteristic of a location. In someinstances, the characteristic segments such as MAC addresses and accesscodes may be correlated with a whitelist of transceivers associated witha neighborhood or suite of rooms, but in other cases the characteristicsegments may be significant by their alien content and structure, andwhile the signature-like characteristics are significant, they may be ofunknown origin, identity and meaning. Meta-analysis of the BT radioenvelope in a neighborhood or other local area may be classified on a“scale of familiarity” (SOF) or “scale of strangeness” (SOS) from apattern associated with a home safe zone to a pattern associated with analien and unsafe environment, and the device and system may use the SOFfamiliarity or SOS strangeness of the pattern in effecting securitymeasures, in controlling pairing with new devices, and in flagging itemsthat have been left behind or lost before the owner of the item knowsthat they are lost, for example. Items that attach themselves may alsobe flagged for inspection.

FIG. 1 depicts a system 100 with XCB radiotag 10, cloud host(s)1111,2400, reference hub 20, and smart device 30. Also shown is a BTradiotag 12 (TD1). XCB device 10, illustrated here schematically, may bepart of system 100 for tracking lost items, for collecting sensor datafrom networks of radiotags 10,12 and for enforcing safe zonesindependently or in conjunction with reference hub 20, for example.

Radiotag 10 and smart device 30 both have a BT radio and a cellularmodem. Radiotag 12 and reference hub 20 have a BT radio. Reference hub20 differs from radiotag 12, however, in that the BT radio of the hub isplugged in to the grid and is not power constrained. It may transmit andreceive at +4 dBm or higher, whereas radiotag 12 is frequently limitedto +0 or −4 dBm maximum power to conserve battery, for example. Inaddition to a BT radio, smart device 30 and reference hub 20 may have aWiFi connection or serial USB connection that permits data sharing witha network host 1111 or 2400.

BT radiotag 12 transmits BT radio signals that may be received by any ofthe devices 10, 20, and 30. Device 12 may join a piconet with BT devices10,20,30 or with other BT devices, but is not able to form a radio linkdirectly to cloud server 1111 or cloud portal 2400.

Device 10 differs from device 12 in several respects. Device 10 includesboth cellular and BT radios, whereas device 12 has only a BT radio. Bothdevices include microcontrollers or processors, but because device 10has a cellular modem, it can connect 1 via cellular radio to cloud host1111 (shown here with a virtual private gateway 2400). This is definedas a “CALL HOME” 1, but in the interests of saving power, the cellularmodem is used sparingly in tracking, locating, and uplinking data.

Data exchanges with the cloud from device 10 generally occur over acellular connection 1 but may also be routed through reference hub 20via a BT 4 or other WLAN radio link 5. Similarly, data exchanges withthe cloud from device 10 may be routed through smart device 30. In otherinstances, data received 9 from a BT piconet or other IoT sensor devicemay be pooled in memory of the XCB device 10 or in the reference hub 20.Data may be shared over BT radio links 2,4,9 and then uplinked to cloudhost 1111 via (i) a wired connection 7 from hub 20, (ii) via a BTconnection 6 to a smart device 30 and then to cloud host 1111, or, (iii)via a direct cellular radio connection between device 10 and a cloudserver 2400 for example. As used here, cloud server 2400 isrepresentative of a class of cloud hosts termed “virtual privategateways”.

Devices in network 100 that can uplink the BT radio layer to the cloudlayer include smart device 30, XCB device 10 and reference hub 20. Withthe exception of a recent BTLE 5.0+ standard, BT data is generallytransmitted by frequency-shift keying and hence cannot be directlyinjected into the IP packet data environment by which most cloud andsmart device traffic is routed.

A CALL HOME 1 need not be a voice call—the call may serve to refresh anetwork connection, to get a location fix from the network, or to updatethe system with current location and status of the XCB device 10. And,if needed, a CALL HOME can generate a notification to a user/subscriber11 or to a system administrator. Notifications are generallyprogrammable by rules-based logic resident in device 10 or a system hostand are conditional on some aspect of the current status or location ofdevice 10, as will be described below. Thus FIG. 1 provides a generaloverview of the emergent properties of hybrid lost-and-found networks100 combining BT and cellular devices in a 5G or LTE packeted networkenvironment. A challenge for these devices is to define logic controlsthat limit when the cellular modem is used and how power savings stateseDRX, DRX and PSM for cellular radio use are implemented to reducebattery drain while enabling “on demand” cellular network connectivity.Advantageously, whereas BT connectivity is hit or miss in many areas,cellular connectivity, once authenticated to a network, is much morereliable and structured over large areas of the planet, a keyconsideration in designing a global lost-and-found system 100.

Links 2,4,6 and 9 are BT signals (connected or extended advertisingmode); links 1,3,5 are cellular connections. Link 7 is a link betweenreference hub 20 through a packet data network environment to cloud host1111, as may be wired, wireless or a combination of both. Cloud links1,7,8 are routed through the packet data environment of a 5G or LTEcellular network, through Ethernet connections, through WiFi, or throughother wireless or digital networks. Link 8 is a link between smartphone30 through a packet data network to cloud host 1111, as may be wired,wireless or a combination of both. Device 10 may connect 3 via acellular link to smart device 30 in one embodiment and connect 1 tocloud host 2400 via cellular or WiFi wireless links, for example.Cellular links generally involve one or more cellular towers, basestations and other elements of a cellular telephonic infrastructure (notshown). WiFi links generally involve local and base station routersusing IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ah/ax and/or 802.15.4a/g WPAN radiotechnologies, for example.

BT links to device 10 may be optimized using dynamic gain. In making aresponse to a qualified incoming BT signal, device 10 will assess theRSSI, (or other index of apparent “path loss” such as RCPI or PER) ofthe incoming BT signal and can boost transmit power (broadcast power) ifthe incoming signal is weak or intermittent. Conversely, device 10 canreduce transmit power to save battery if the incoming BT signal from alinked transmitter is strong. A BT transducer operating in dynamic modeat a nominal 0 dBm can increase its transmit power to +4 dBm or +8 dBmif a received signal from a linked transmitter is weak, for example, andcan decrease its transmit power to −4 dBm, or even −12 dBm if a receivedsignal is strong, for example. In field use, a BT receiver mayexperience intermittent signal loss as the RSSI drops to a threshold ofabout −100 dBm or lower, but in order to restore a BT link or overcomeedge effects, the BT transceiver can increase transmit powertemporarily, and send a message that includes TX POWER as a field in thepacket payload. The receiving device can calculate path loss from thetransmit power minus the received signal power, and can increase itstransmission power to compensate if needed. The Apple iBeacon,Eddystone, and other beacon formats include a native field with 8 bitsfor sending TX POWER, where TX POWER is defined as the nominal receivedpower at 0 meters, in dBm, and the value ranges from −100 dBm to +20 dBmat a resolution of 1 dBm. The value is a signed 8-bit integer asspecified by the TX POWER LEVEL characteristic in the BT SECSpecifications. As a rule of thumb, the experimentally determined outputas measured at 1-meter distance corresponds to the transmitted powerminus 41 dBm. A software development kit (SDK) can be used to implementdynamic gain in BT beacons so as to reduce energy consumption, forexample. The kit may include a library or table of pathloss-versus-distance calculations based on known factors such as type ofphone and environment (such as indoor versus outdoor) by which dynamicassignment of gain can be implemented to improve connection qualitywhile minimizing unnecessary power consumption.

Cloud services are provided by cloud host 1111, optionally incooperation with virtual private gateway 2400. Cloud services can beaccessed via cellular radio from device 10, via smart device 30,represented here as a smartphone, or via wired services. The cloud hostmay serve as a repository for sensor data and user profiles, forexample, and may have much greater resources for analytics than theportable devices.

Reference hub 20 may be in cloud communication via WiFi for example, andsmart device 30 (here represented as a smartphone) has conventionalconnectivity by cellular and WiFi to the IP packet data environment ofthe World Wide Web, termed here a global area network (GAN). Smartphoneconnectivity through GSM, LTE-M and 5G networks is ubiquitous and ofinterest here is the novel capacity to deploy personal and communityradiotag internodes 10 having both cellular and BT network links.

Signals received on the BT radio of an XCB device 10 may cause thecellular modem to be activated when context dictates the need for a CALLHOME 1, for example to establish a location fix, to communicate statusto a cloud host 1111,2400, or to generate a notification to userequipment 30. In other instances, an eDRX cycle at 2.5 min intervals ora PSM cycle at 10 min intervals may be feasible within the energy budgetof the XCB device' battery, but in most instances, further limits areneeded to achieve a useful field life as defined by a battery size anddischarge.

The cellular radio is packaged as a modem that stores the cellularnetwork connectivity and synchronization data including IMEI and ISMIdata. By combining the two radios in one device, the main disadvantageof cellular power saving mode (that the radio is unresponsive in sleepmode) is overcome because BT radios have a “flickering” standby modethat is “always listening” (FIG. 8A) for radio traffic at low power evenwhen the rest of the device 10 is in deep sleep. The latency of thesystem is adjustable, but can be satisfactorily balanced by makingmillisecond switches from passive listening to standby and back in acontinuous repeating loop (FIG. 8A), and increasing active power to oneor more device components if and only if relevant radio traffic isintercepted.

The hybrid radio networks enabled by community deployment of devices 10and 20 result in other emergent properties of system 100. For example,the virtual geofence 21 (dashed box, FIG. 1) formed around reference hub20 may be stationary and may be a radio tether: a repeating broadcastthat defines a stationary radio geofence. The signal quality of therepeating broadcast, as received by the XCB radiotag in need of locationmonitoring, is an indication of the integrity of the radio tether: i.e.,poor signal quality may indicate a deterioration or breakage of theradio tether as for example if the XCB radiotag leaves the safe zonearea within the radio geofence. This enables an owner to implementlocation services such as monitoring a pet in a fenced yard, and alsoprovides a community resource for creating a BT radio map ofneighborhood (the BT radiobeacon “lighthouse” effect).

As a basic tracking system 100 for finding lost objects and radiotaggeditems, aspects of the system that are relevant include: (i) BT radioproximity sensing functions and BT proximity locator services toolkit;(ii) radio contact data collection, data entry and mapping functions,(iii) network servers with relational database functions and some levelof machine intelligence, (iv) open access to global IP packet datanetworks, and (v) a cellular remote locator services toolkit. Thesystems may also include one or more private IP networks for providingvirtual private gateway (VPN) functions. Synergy is manifested in themerging of the very particulate local network(s) of BT radios capable ofad hoc piconets, micronets and local nets combined with the cellularnetwork(s) that can span 2 miles or 20000 miles over transoceanic cablesand orbital satellite relays, for example.

In more detail, when BT signals from reference hub 20 are used to definea radio safe zone 21, the loss or decay of the BT radio envelope (suchas measured by RSSI) around a mobile radiotag 10 is an indication ofincreasing distance, and if the BT radio signal is lost, the device 10may be configured to initiate a CALL HOME 1. Data reported to the cloud1111 or to a virtual private gateway 2400 is used to assess the locationof radiotag 10 and to issue notifications to an owner 11 of the taggedasset or to make other interventions if the location relative to thegeofence is not in compliance with a rule programmed by theowner/subscriber. BT radio alone is not sufficient for establishing alocation fix where local area BT radio traffic is absent. GPS radio isnot conveniently installed in BT radiotags because the process ofcalculating GPS location is very energy intensive. Thus the capacity tomake a network assisted cellular location fix is a compelling value ofXCB radiotags.

As illustrated here, reference hub 20 may function as a mobile orstationary radio geofence. The hub 20 may include means for monitoringradio signals from radiotag 10, or vice versa, and may also monitorsignals from radiotag 12 and from smartphone 30, for example. Hub 20,radiotag 10, and smartphone 30 may convey notifications, commands anddata to and from compatible radio devices 10,12,20 and 30. Inembodiments, the system 100 is configured so that any detection of asignal from any of radiotag devices 10,12 outside a designated“geofenced” area 21 will result in an alarm or a notification to aresponsible party 11. If device 10 loses the signal from reference hub20, it may be triggered to CALL HOME and to obtain its locationindependently using its cellular radio. BT radiotag 12, on the otherhand, is dependent on system 100 to track its location. The relativeproximity of device 10 and 12 can be estimated from the strength of theBT radio signals between the devices, and a rough position can berefined by triangulating BT signals between smartphone 30, the hub 20and device 10, for example. Yet surprisingly, BT device 20 plays animportant role in networks of this kind because its spread spectrumsignal and those of other BT devices define a BT radio topology orenvelope that enables power management of the cellular radio in device10.

In FIG. 15C, a portable XCB device 22 (XCB2) is centered in a mobilesafe zone 1504. The device is active as a mobile radiotether or mobilegeofence. In this embodiment, the device 22 defines a mobile safe zoneor geofence 1504 that travels with owner/subscriber 11. Radio geofence1504 is a subdomain of the BT radio envelope and radio tether of BTtransceiver 22. Accessory XCB radiotags like device 1510 a may betethered to mobile hub device 22. The enforcement of the geofence isfurther enhanced by the cellular connectivity of device 1510 a, whichfunctions as a radiotag, such as for a pet collar, asset tag or embeddeddevice. Mobile device 1510 a may be operated in cooperation with thecloud server 1111 or with companion smart device 30 to enforce the safezone that travels with user 11. If the device leaves (arrow 1509) thesafe zone, as for device 1510 b (dog collar with phantom lines), a keycapacity is the ability to turn on the cellular modem when needed tofind or track a lost asset. The goal of any logic is to minimize anypower loss by eliminating unnecessary cellular radio traffic, but toacquire or reactivate a cellular network connection to device 1510 b ifthe radiotag outside the safe zone 1504, for example because the ownerhas gone in direction 1508, and dog has gone in direction 1509. In anideal situation, the radiotag will know that the dog has gone astraybefore the owner does and will initiate a CALL HOME 1 and cause an alertto be sent to the owner's smart device 30.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in other embodiments, reference hub 20 may bea conversational hub, such as the smart home hubs sold as GoogleAssistant, Echo Plus, Bixby, Siri or Alexa. The computing resources ofthe cloud have been interfaced with an XCB reference hub 20,22 having aspeaker and microphone and a voice-cloud interface for asking simplequestions. These plug-in devices 20 have BT radios and are useful tomonitor radio proximity and to interact with radiotags 10, 12 1510 a.

Radiotags 10 may be used in conjunction with BT radiotags 12 to keeptrack of things. Of themselves, autonomous ad hoc BTLE networks areunique for several reasons, i) because BTLE devices are small and arereadily embedded in wearables, in things, or even organisms, ii) becausethey are digital radios capable of energy-efficient radio communicationat 0 dBm or less, and iii) because the radio devices in the network aretrue peer-to-peer (P2P) networking tools in which one device can act asmaster in one or more networks while simultaneously acting as slave inmultiple other networks, and the roles are interchangeable. Whileinitially developed for pairing accessories to cellphones (EricssonMobile, Stockholm), BT pico- and micronets have been discovered to havesurprisingly useful emergent properties because they dispense with basestations and access points and spontaneously form autonomous FH-CDMApeer-to-peer (P2P) mesh networks. There is no single point at whichtransmission in a network can be disrupted. By hybridizing BT networkswith XCB networks, yet another level of emergent properties is achieved.

The BT radios are entirely self-sufficient digital radios and can pickup BTLE transmissions from up to 1500 ft away. The cellular radios arenative to cellular networks, and can quickly be located anywhere aroundthe globe. Having both together in an XCB device 10,22,1510 a provides adramatic increase in search granularity, the cellular radio providing ageneral location and the BT radio permitting the owner of a lost articleto activate a Bluetooth Proximity Locator Services Toolkit so as tolocate the lost article by sight, sound, or feel, as will be describedbelow, or even to display a detailed map with the location of the lostradiotag on a companion smartphone.

To enable user programmability, the system 100 may include anapplication installable on smartphone 30. Lost-and-found services areachieved with one or more of radio devices 10,12,20 when used incombination with software installed by user 11 on a smart device 30, forexample. Related tracking functions are enhanced by the participation ofa cloud host 1111, but in many cases, only radiotag 10,12 and active hub20,22 are needed to monitor asset location within a radio perimeter. Insome instances, smartphone 30 can act as a hub. The software supplied touser 11, when installed on smartphone 30, functions to relay sensor dataand radio contact reports to the cloud host, for example, and may alsofunction to receive notifications sent to user equipment 30 and providea user interface for setup and customization of features of thelost-and-found network 100. Webpages are accessible using a smart device30 that may include administrative tools for navigating through,managing, and customizing programmable features of a Bluetooth or dualradio device 10,12, and for selecting notification instructions andpreferences, entering user information, updating or upgradingsubscriptions to cloud services, and so forth. The smartphone need notbe in a user's possession to be accessible by radio and many functionsof a smartphone can be accessed in background while it remains in theuser's pocket.

The application generally supports a graphical user interface (GUI)configured to monitor, track or help locate one or more radiotaggedassets such as keys, TV remotes, briefcases, wallets and othervaluables. Devices 10 may also function independently to keep track ofchildren and pets, and one can be placed in a car so that the car can befound if the user 11 is having a “senior moment” or is simply unsettledafter a long day and doesn't remember where the car is parked. Synergyis immediately apparent in that the devices 10 may include sensorfunctions such as for detecting and alerting if a child is in hot car orhas had a fall, for example. Device 10 may also establish a mobile safezone when placed in a vehicle where access to WiFi is not available.

The cloud is capable, with permission, of controlling radiotags 10,12,for example by causing one to go into an alarm state as a convenience inlocating a missing asset. But the opposite is also true, the radiotagscan control functions of the smartphone 30. Functions such as taking apicture, responding to an email, sending a hug to a loved one, andindirect or direct control of remote machines, such as opening a garagedoor on the way home, starting the coffee pot from bed, turning off thealarm clock without getting up, and checking that all the doors in thehouse are closed and locked can be programmed into the system 100 withthe radiotag(s) 10 functioning as both a sensor and an actuator. In someinstances the XCB radiotag will be embedded in the effector or remotemachine.

FIG. 2A is a sketch of an exemplary dual-radio XCB device 10 containinga combination Bluetooth radio (B) and a cellular radio (C). The deviceincludes a radiolucent hard case 14, shown here with clamshellconstruction with upper case member 14 a and lower case member 14 bjoined at seam 14 c. Optionally a battery access port may be provided onan undersurface of the case 14, or in other embodiments the devices maybe sealed and may be inductively rechargeable. A USB port 17 forrecharging and data transfer is shown at the back lower end of thedevice.

XCB devices 10 include a battery or mobile power supply and supportingcircuitry as will be described below. The case includes an annulet orslot 16 (FIG. 2B) for receiving a lanyard or chain. One skilled in theart will readily appreciate that there are various ways of associating aradiotag with an asset in need of tracking or likely to get lost. Alsoshown is an actuator or switch 15 formed on an upper surface of thecase. The switch 15 may function as a “homing button” to cause thedevice to CALL HOME when the switch is depressed, as will be describedbelow. These features are representative of radiotags that embodyaspects of the invention but are not to be construed as limitations ofthe inventions as claimed.

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of first XCB device 10 with keychain orlanyard through annulet 16. In these drawings, signals from the radiosare indicated by concentric arcs that connote electromagnetic waves,wider for cellular signals (C) and narrower for BT radio signals (B).

FIG. 2C is a CAD view of a second XCB device 10 a with annulet 16 a forkeychain or other attachment. The device includes cellular and BT radiomodems with multiband antenna in a sealed package. Inductive charging isachieved with a Qi or NFC antenna on the base of the device. In additionto the center activation switch 15 a on the top of the case, there is anRGB-LED inlaid on the wall of the case that extends in a band alongabout a 180 degree arc opposite the tabbed annulet. The RGB-LED may besegmented and may operate in a pulsatile or function specific mode toprovide feedback during user setup and interactions. Also enclosed is aspeaker with resonant voicebox and microphone. Battery life ranges fromweeks to months depending on the frequency of cellular network uplinksand the latency in the BT scanning mode.

FIG. 3 is a view of another XCB device 300 with alternate form factorand user interface 301. The user interface can include button switches,LEDs and a buzzer or speaker, for example. The piezo element may besuitable as a hypersonic whistle for pet obedience training, if desired,and the radiotag may be attachable to a pet collar. In other use cases,the device slips into a pocket of a jacket and keeps tabs on other BTradiotags under control of a user.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an XCB finder device 310. The device isoperable on battery power and includes a battery access port (reverseside, not shown). Optionally the device may include a USB rechargingport or an inductive recharging circuit, for example. The device mayinclude user interface elements selected from button, LED, speaker, oreven a microphone. In this instance the body form factor is card-likeand may be inserted in a wallet or daybook, for example.

FIG. 5A is a view of an alternate discoid device 101 operable on batterypower. The device includes a sealed shell 52 with annulus 54 and pottedinternal components for weatherproofing. Optionally, the battery can berechargeable, such as by inductive recharging. The device may include amultifunction capacitive or diaphragm-type button switch (53, centersurface), for example.

In one embodiment, the button switch 53 functions to trigger a CALL HOMEwhen pressed. For example, a passerby, who is able to approach a lostdog or who has found a radiotagged asset, may press the button toactivate a notification that goes out to the owner, and the notificationmay include an updated location. In some instances, a system thatmonitors radio signals from the device may offer other asset managementservices. Similar applications are readily apparent in managing lostchildren and assets generally, and will be described in more detailbelow.

FIG. 5B is a puck-shaped XCB radiotag 501 and includes edge-mountedtouch capacitive switches and a translucent body for viewing theactivity of an RGB LED assembly within the sealed case. An NFC antennaor “Qi” charging antenna is provided along with a 2400 mAh LiPo battery,for example. The case functions as a resonant diaphragm with internalspeakers and microphones in a noise-cancelling array. Dual-band antennasare configured for BT and WiFi at 2.4 and 5 GHz and a multi-band LTEantenna are connected to BT, WLAN and cellular radio modems under commoncontrol of a BT modem and microprocessor. A battery, SIM card andmicro-SSD card slot are accessible in a threaded door on the undersideof the device. The device connects to a user's smartphone for access toa more detailed user interface, and tracks user radiotags that have beenregistered with the device. The device will also respond to voiceinquiries and make voice notifications, for example if one of the user'sradiotags is slipping off its radio tether.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views of a contoured device 601, pocket sized, thatincludes an XCB radio pair, a speaker, microphone and multifunctionswitch accessible on front case. The device may include a mounting portfor receiving a strap or lanyard and is intended as a minder fortracking children and pets. The BT radio (B) monitors local radiotraffic and reports to a system host periodically. The device learnsfamiliar radio environments and issues notifications if the radioenvironment manifests characteristics of an unfamiliar or alien locationor unexpected presence of strangers. Voice SMS messaging is enabled bypressing the switch once to receive a voice message and twice to recordand send a message. Each voice SMS message is recorded as a digitalfile, transmitted, and the message is unpacked for replay at thereceiving device. The location of the device can be monitored remotelyusing periodic actuation of cellular network-assisted AGPS and willreport location and heading on a map to a parent smartphone bysubscription.

FIG. 6C is a network schematic showing XCB radiotag 10 and cloud host(s)in a combined BT and cellular network 1110. Global area network (GAN,1110) is built from a cellular network, a Bluetooth network, and anetwork of cloud hosts 1111. A single radiotag 10 and a singlesmartphone 30 are shown for simplicity but each layer of the network caninclude many radio units and computing machines.

The cloud host 1111, broadly, is a virtual network and may also includeone or more virtual private gateways (VPG, 2400) with private IPaddresses. In a preferred embodiment, CALL HOME traffic 1 is addressedto a dedicated IP address of a VPG. Use of private IP addresses with aVPG 2400 reduces any security concerns with remote location tracking ofa child, for example, but the rate of battery power loss due to ofinadvertent, unauthorized, and network-incidental messaging is alsoreduced. We have published our findings that unsolicited cellular radiotraffic on a typical commercial network consumes an enormous amount ofpower, and use of a VPG is an effective solution (Yasukawa et al. 2019.Waking and Interacting with an IoT Device in eDRX Mode on Demand), saidnon-patent document being incorporated in full by reference for all itteaches.

In one embodiment, the cloud administrative host 1111 uses an IP addressto access the device 10 by the BT radio modem 680 or by the cellularradio modem 682, depending on which radio(s) are active. For security,the radiotag 10 may be operated as a cellular device accessible by an IPaddress on VPG 2400 to find and track the whereabouts of the device viaa dedicated and secure 5G private network or gateway VPG.

Data uplink and downlink occurs in a packet data network, and mayconform to TCP/IP or UDP protocols. Data transfer by SMS messaging isalso enabled. Data may include embedded AT commands to the cellularmodem 682 with cellular radio 683, for example, or a qualified BT orcellular signal may cause the processor 670 to generate an AT command tothe cellular modem. Packets include a header and payload as known in theart.

Location data is of particular interest in a lost-and-found application.The device 10 may include one or more logic triggers that causes acellular network connection request, direct or indirect, and the uploadof data. We have termed this a CALL HOME 1. The trigger can be sensordata such as accelerometry or button data, a timer, or may be a triggerinherent in the topology of the physical web, for example. A directupload of location data to the cloud host 1111 or VPG 2400 can berequested by the network or by the device 10, either when the cellularmodem 682 executes or responds to a paging window call or when the BTradio 680 receives a cellular connection request via BT radio signal 2.At any time there is a BT connection with a piconet, in which there is acellular-competent device 10 in the piconet, indirect uplink of data tothe network may be executed over BT radio links 2. Generally smartphone30 will forward the data to the cloud host via network connection 8.

In one embodiment, the SIM module 684 may serve to establish anexclusive private IP address for device 10. VPG network 2400 may collectlocation information periodically from cellular modem 682 to create a“trail of waypoints” that track locations of device 10.

The cloud host also adds a layer of artificial intelligence. Bysupplying and aggregating data from sensor networks composed of devices10,12,20,30, dynamic control of cellular radio activity in theindividual devices 10 is enabled. As internodes between cellular and BTmesh networks, devices 10 serve an important role in bridgingconnectivity over much larger areas, while also preserving the proximityand open intimacy that characterizes BT radio. The cloud host may beuseful in storing data and preferences, in looking up deviceidentifiers, in making notifications across the Internet, in making longdistance connections, and in aggregating large amounts of sensor data.With increasing use of machine intelligence, aggregated sensor data incombination with geostamps and timestamps can be the source of valuablewarnings and notifications addressed to particular user/subscribers orthe community as a whole. The deployment of XCB devices 10 by acommunity results in emergent properties of a system that cannot bepredicted from the sum of the individual parts. Synergy is immediatelyapparent in that location and sensor information can be uplinkeddirectly to a cloud host via the XCB cellular radio (when powered on)and at all times shared with local networks of Bluetooth devices via theBT radio set. Location data kept current in this way provideslost-and-found systems with the capacity to downregulate or upregulatelocation collection as a dynamic process that responds to variablelevels of uncertainty in the system and consumer needs. Data may alsoinclude logs of radio contacts intercepted by device 10, and whenaggregated with timestamps and geostamps, the radio contact log data isuseful to establish situational awareness by which a user in possessionof the data can determine whether the radiotag is where is supposed tobe or not, and if not, then to find and track it as needed.

The cloud host server 1111 may include a REST API 613, for example. Onceauthenticated, the cellular modem 682 with radio 683 can uplink data tothe cloud host 1111 and receive commands and data. Using an API 613, thecloud host parses sensor data, radio contact records, extracts relevantinformation, and combines that information to generate executablecommands that may take the form of a notification, a warning, or anintervention. User programmable commands that are conditional on sensordata, location, time or other inputs may be stored in user profiles indatabase(s) 616 and accessed at administrative engine 612. Anynotification or executable command is handled by the network engine 614and may involve one or more smart devices 30 or other remote machines asintermediaries, or may be delivered directly to the device 10 during apaging opportunity when the cellular modem 682 is receiving or directlyto the device 10 in a BT signal via BT radio 680.

Cellular modem 682 includes cellular radio 683, which is connected toantenna 683 a. Modem 682 may be for example a Monarch LTE GM01Q(LTE-M/NB-IoT such as the SQN66430 SiP) or NB01Q (NB-IoT) LGA modulewith integrated SIM platform (Sequans, Paris FR) for machine dataexchange. Monarch SOCs such as the SQN3330 generally includes anintegrated cellular RF front end, but not BT radio. Sequans modulestypically support a variety of LTE bands for worldwide connectivity andconsume less than 1 μA of power with PSM and eDRX modes and providingfor batch data transmission in a centimeter-sized combination. Anexample of the power requirements of a Sequans cellular modem is shownin FIG. 41.

Generally, the information needed to authenticate to the cellularnetwork is stored in a SIM unit 684 that is part of cellular modem 682and can also be used for higher quality encryption of data. Cellularnetworks are closed networks and connections are subject to higherauthentication security administered by the network. All cellular radiodevices are authenticated by IMEI and IMSI information contained in aSIM module, as known in the art. A dedicated control frequency is usedfor coordinating the connection of user equipment (UE) to the network.

GPS chip 688 is shown with a separate antenna 688 a. Antenna 680 a istuned for BT spread spectrum transmission and reception. Notificationsmay be received via either the BT radio 680 or the cellular radio 683(with antenna 683 a), and may result in a display such as activation ofspeaker 621 via acoustic driver 622. Optionally, a microphone 620 isincluded so that responses to notifications can be sent. Both the BTradio and the cellular radio are capable of transmitting and receivingvoice signals.

The processor 670 can be programmed, or otherwise configured, usingsoftware resident in ROM (such as EEPROM 650) or as firmware, or acombination of both software and firmware. Processor or MCU 670 includesa BT radio die as an SOC 680 configured to transfer data and commands toand from the processor. The BT radio can control the power mode andsleep cycle of the processor and the cellular modem. Exemplary BTchipsets for BT radio include the Nordic nRF52840 (Nordic Semiconductor,Portland Oreg.) with ARM® Cortex M-4 processor, the Dialog DA1468Xfamily, Dialog Semiconductor, Reading UK) or the Texas InstrumentsCC1640r2F (Texas Instruments, Dallas Tex.) with low power sensorcontroller for IoT applications. Other BT chipset manufacturers includeSTMicroelectronics, On Semiconductor, U-Blox, Silicon Labs, Toshiba,Ankya, RDA, and Cypress (Infineon). CSR (Qualcomm), Broadcom (Belkin)and MediaTek dominate the supply of BT chips used in smartphones.

In other embodiments, multiband antennas are used. Fractal and diversityantennas are becoming familiar technology and are both inexpensive andcompact. Ceramic antennas are also reasonably priced. Because theantenna design includes the circuit board as a whole, the case, thebattery, and any NFC or Qi antenna as well, mobile edge radio canbenefit from software-defined radio supplemented with software-definedantenna. In a preferred embodiment, FET gate arrays are used forimpedance matching over multiple bands. These packages are included in asmall radiotag that fits in a hand, in a pocket, on a keychain, a wrist,or is embedded in an asset. Wearable XCB devices find increasing use inmonitoring latchkey children in this work-all-day parenting society.

RAM 640 is provided for storage of volatile data, such as for datalogging of sensor data. Sensor package 660 may include a single sensoror various combinations of sensors as a package. In some instances, oneor more of the sensors are incorporated into the processor. The sensorsmay include an accelerometer 623.

The size of the RAM memory 640 is dependent on the size of the memoryrequirement for data. Stored data may include data from sensors 660 andfrom switches 633. Data from throw- and button-press switches isconsidered data. Stored data may also include radio contact records (seebelow). The memory may be supplied as cache memory in the processor, ormay include external RAM if data logging functions requires it.

Working memory may also include dedicated registers for handling packetcomposition and decomposition, for encryption keys, and so forth. BT andcellular radio signal buffers may be gated by the processor and mayinclude registers for parsing commands and command parameters fromdatastreams. This memory is generally distinct from non-volatileread-only memory 650 for storing processor instructions. EEPROM memoryregisters may be supplied, or in some instances firmware or combinationsof EEPROM and firmware are used.

To save power, the cellular modem 682 and the processor 670 may defaultto a power savings mode and it may be a BT radio signal (received onantenna 680 a and conveyed to the processor by BT radio 680) containinga qualified wake signal that tasks the processor to initiate someroutine that wakes up various higher functionalities of the circuitry ofdevice 10.

These higher functionalities may include initiating an uplink or atracking area update (TAU) via the cellular modem 682. In oneillustrative embodiment, the cloud host sends a signal to the BT radio680 via the BT radio of an intermediary device such as smartphone 30,and that signal will cause the cellular modem 682 to initiate a CALLHOME 1, for example, optionally bypassing smartphone 30. In this way,the cellular modem can kept in a dormant or semi-dormant state most ofthe time but retains the capacity to report to the network and toexecute network commands with reduced latency in response to an overridecommand. The cellular modem can minimize or at least manage the kinds ofenergy demands illustrated in FIG. 41, where an oscilloscope traceshowing a power consumption cycle of a full TAU cellular radio event.

Surprisingly, the Bluecell radiotag is enabled to receive a cellularpower management mode override signal (or related power managementparameters) in a BT radio signal sent over a piconet or via link 8 to acompatible smart device 30 and therethrough 2 in a connected orconnectionless data transfer to the BT radio 680. Alternatively, duringa CALL HOME 1, the cellular network may make modifications to thedefault cellular power savings mode.

Sleep management can include a restricted schedule of cellular activity,for example in a DRX or eDRX mode (extended discontinuous receptioncycle) in which the network management node and the user equipmentpre-arrange discrete time intervals in which pages will be delivered.The receiving device wakes up to monitor for a paging event (physicaldownlink control channel) at discrete intervals (along the lines of whatis described in U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/313,085 to Namboodiri and PCTPat. Publ. Nos. WO2017065671 to Siomina).

During an eDRX event, the cellular receiver is active and linked to thenetwork so as to receive a page. Reception is an active process and mayinvolve transmission of signal quality responses or commandacknowledgements. Configurable parameters of eDRX include Paging TimeWindow (PTW), HSFN (system hyperframe numbering) and eDRX cycle lengthduration. The eDRX updates the clock synchronization. In a pagingwindow, new commands can be received as a downlink, but generally aneDRX goes by without the need for an uplink of data in a pagingopportunity. In modified eDRX, the initial paging window becomes aconnection for data uplink so that a cellular location fix by thenetwork PoLTE service or an equivalent can be completed. The device thenreturns to sleep or idle mode unless other paging instructions are sent.eDRX parameters are established during at ATTACH and TAU data transferin the initial connection request or in subsequent updates to TAU. Bythese adaptations, eDRX can become a routine process of acquiring andstoring a series of locations or waypoints, each with a timestamp.

Wake up in eDRX can be modified in response to a PDCCH page with aRCC-compatible request for location assistance. The network locationassistance request (LAR) involves sending a snippet of signals capturedfrom a plurality of cellular base stations back to the network,generally about 30 Kbytes in length, and receiving in return, a positionfix with latitude and longitude from the network. In this way, networklocation fixes may be obtained every 5 min or 10 min, and there may be aTAU once an hour or three times an hour as required to maintain networksynchronization and to balance network loading, for example.

During a tracking area update (TAU), if for example the device 10 hasshifted out of a cellular tower coverage area, the cellular modem willlock on to a new tower with stronger signal to authenticate itself andrenew its network connection at the new tower. Location data is updatedduring this “handover” process and will be stored in the memory of thehost device or in a network database. The cloud host 1111 can benotified if device 10 is reallocated from one cell to another as itmoves. Because this can occur when cell traffic is being levelled (i.e.by shifting users from a crowded cell base station onto an adjacent basestation having lighter traffic) the cloud host can monitor the basestation carrier channels in the network path to differentiate locationchanges that are traffic load driven versus changes initiated becausethe cellular radio 683 and antenna 683 a detected a stronger signal froman adjacent base station and elected to initiate a handover to the newsystem transmitter because it had been moved.

Once the cellular radio is on and authenticated to the network, thennetwork-assisted location fixes on its transmissions may be performedautomatically. When requested by the network, the device 10 may supplyGPS coordinates or data to assist in AGPS, for example. The device mayoptionally include a Satnav radio 688 and antenna 688 a with specializedprocessing module for calculating position from the timed signals ofsatellites in low earth orbit. Some cellular radio chips 683 areprovided with the accessory GPS radio integrated into the die. Ifneeded, a network location assistance request (LAR) can seed a Satnavpositioning calculation by the onboard GPS chip so as to reduce time andenergy for making the calculations. A device energy budget may be usedto balance the relative need for Satnav positioning calculations versusnetwork-assisted LAR position data and may be configured according touser specifications or modified on the fly by commands sent from thenetwork. The network can use PoLTE or AGPS to assist in device locationcalculation, measurement and reporting.

BT radiobeacons or hubs having known fixed locations can also be used torefine location, particularly in indoor environments. Google suppliesEddystone and a Proximity Beacon REST API that allows users to registera beacon with location (Lat/Long) and indoor floor level, for example,which is wiredly used to geotag commercial establishments and places ofinterest as a physical web. Reference hubs 20 may function as“lighthouse radiobeacons” in broadcasting stationary positioncoordinates.

Uploads of location data stored in memory 640 may be executed from timeto time. A direct upload can also be requested by the network or by thedevice, either when the cellular modem 682 executes a paging window callor when the BT radio 680 receives a cellular connection request. Duringa BT connection with a piconet, in which there is a cellular-competentdevice in the piconet, indirect uplink of data may be executed over BTchannels. A powerful set of tools for location-directed network servicesemerges by combining a Cellular Remote Locator Services Toolkit and aBluetooth Proximity Locator Services Toolkit, as will be describedbelow.

The device may be rechargeable from an optional recharging source 694.Battery 699 may be disposable or rechargeable via circuit 690. Otherenergy harvesting means known in the art may be used to extend theoperating lifetime of the device beyond that offered by one full batterycharge and a switching regulator may be used to manage power to theprocessor and radios.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are schematics of alternate dual-radio deviceembodiments. Radiotags of this kind can be attached to various assets orto pets, for example, and may also be worn or carried by children inneed of cloud-based locating and tracking services. The devices arecharacterized by a functional combination of two radios: (A) a Bluetoothradio operable with low power for extended battery life in portable use;(B) a cellular radio in a modem that is connectable to LTE and 5Gcellular network. The two radios work cooperatively to connect to ad hoclocal mesh networks characteristic of Bluetooth and to the cellularbasestations (eNodeB) of cellular telephone networks.

FIG. 7A is a schematic of a first device 70 a having separate cellularmodem 68 and BT radio unit 63 that share control and are linked to asingle processor 72 and supporting circuitry. The processor assembly 71includes ROM 73 and RAM 74. In some instances the processor instructionsare not supplied by software but instead are hardcoded into an array oflogic gates within the processor.

The unit is battery powered. Digital radio may be by frequency (GFSK) orphase (DPSK) modulation of a carrier baseband. The device includes twoantennae, one 62 for the BT radio at about 2.45 GHz and one 66 for thecellular radio at LTE bands. Dual band BT radio may also be supported.The antennae may be printed on the circuit board in some instances, butmay extend from the board as by bayonet mounts and are secured to orembedded in faces of the housing members, which are generally made of aradiolucent material. PCB attachment of ceramic antenna is known in theart. Fractal and PIFA antennae are also considered in the design of aworking device. In some instances micro-coaxial extensions are used toposition the antenna within the peripheral edge faces of the device andaway from any battery or display.

BT core 63 is a low energy processor and includes basic computingfunctionality for executing programming as well as the capacity tocompose, broadcast, receive and decompose digital packets. The BT corehas a unique feature that allows an external “wake up” command in theform of a “qualified wake signal” can bring it up to full power. Byactivating the BT core, the entire device 70 a, or selected parts of thedevice, can be selectively activated. Even if the cellular radio isturned off to conserve energy, it can be activated by signaling the BTcore 63. The “always listening” mode is awake (on a “flickering” dutycycle), but other parts of the BT core and processor are in standby orare asleep and internal BT radio power management circuitry wakes upaccessory functions only when needed and only long enough to complete anassigned function before being put back to sleep mode. This aggressivepower saving mode is responsible for the very long battery life of thesetiny devices.

The BT radio component 64 is generally a transceiver. As per the BTSpecification, the transceiver can be operated in PASSIVE mode,listening only, or in ACTIVE mode, in which the device is discoverableand will respond to INQUIRIES and PAGES so as to make connections orpair with other like BLE radios. The BT radio can also operate in anadvertising beacon mode with repetitive transmission while remaining notconnectable. Both BT radios 63 and cellular modem 67 have more than onewake or sleep level. Each wake state has an inherent energy draw as willbe discussed with reference to FIG. 8A below.

Each radio includes at least one radio unit identifier (RUI). The BTradio 63 includes a BT core 64 and memory 65 containing a EUID assignedby the manufacturer, for example. A derivative of the EUID or BD_ADDRunique radio identifier may be transmitted with broadcasts in INQUIRYmode. The cellular modem 67 includes radio 68 closely linked to a SIM(69, subscription identifier module). The SIM is a microprocessor-basedchip that generates an IMSI (international mobile subscriptionidentifier) that is required to register the device on any cellularnetwork. In some instances the SIM is a card inserted into a Molexconnector for example. The SIM may be a nano-SIM, but in otherembodiments the SIM is an eSIM (embedded SIM) that is integrated intothe circuit board and is not removable. Future SIM units may be softwarebased, but all rely on the use of 128-bit keys to authenticate thedevice. The manufacturer's IMEI (international mobile equipmentidentifier) may also be used for security. The cellular radio generallyincludes a modem.

The processor 72 may be a microprocessor or microcontroller and mayinclude a co-processor or graphics processors. The processor is asolid-state digital device that can be programmed, or otherwiseconfigured, using software resident in ROM 73 or as firmware, or acombination of both software and firmware.

The master processor 72 can delegate BT radio control to the BT unit 63to save energy. The BT radio 64 can cycle to a standby “passivelistening” mode, a unique feature that allows an external “wake up”signal to bring it up to full power almost instantly. By activating theBT core 64, the entire device can be activated. Parts of BT radio thatare not in use are in standby or are asleep, and accessory functions areactivated only when needed and only long enough to complete an assignedfunction before being put back to sleep mode. “Always listening” mode islike a flickering candle—with very low reception latency. Thisaggressive power saving mode is responsible for the very long batterylife of these tiny devices.

Flash memory 74 is provided to store data, including sensor outputs andhistory of radio contacts, including any timestamps and location stamps.An alarm apparatus 75 with LED 76 is used for locating the radiotag whenat close range as part of the Bluetooth Proximity Locator ServicesToolkit. The alarm apparatus may include a speaker that can be actuatedto attract attention and/or a buzzer that vibrates.

Switch 77 and sensor module 78 are peripherals that attach to or aresurface mounted on circuit boards carrying the chips. The button switch77 has multiple functions such as in actuating processor commands. Asensor or package of sensors 78 may be included. A motion sensor istypically provided because the information that a radiotag is moving orstationary is often relevant to whether it is lost or needs to initiatea CALL HOME.

FIG. 7B is a view of an alternate device 70 b. The device schematic issimilar to that of FIG. 7A, but includes a higher level of circuitintegration. Microcontroller assembly 71 a is an ASIC or SOC withcontroller 72, BT radio 64 and cache memory 65 for storing the radioRUI. Integration of a particular processor and radio components ispartly a matter of convenience but is also useful in miniaturizing thetracking device. As shown here, the processor assembly includes ROM 73,RAM 74, and an alarm apparatus 75 with surface-mounted LED 76. Thecellular modem 67 with radio 68 and SIM 69 is packaged separately. Theinterface components, including sensors 78 and button switch 77 formanual actuation of some commands, are separate units so as to bemounted through or on a housing instead of on a circuit board.

FIG. 7C is a schematic of another embodiment of a device 70 c, this onehaving an ASIC 71 b that includes a fully integrated combination of bothradios 64,68, at least one processor 72, including supporting circuitry73,74,75. The cellular radio includes a SIM module 69. The BT radioincludes a radio unit ID cache 65. A sensor package 78 is alsointegrated into the ASIC. Again this is useful in miniaturization. Twoantennae 62,66 are provided separately as shown, but may also beintegrated into the chip. A button switch 77 is wired separately to theprocessor.

The integration shown in FIG. 7C is a higher level of integration thancurrently practiced. According to current practice, the cellular radiois a fully integrated modem 67 with basic MCU included. AT commands maybe sent to the modem to control cellular activity, but a great deal ofthe cellular activity is controlled as part of the network connection 1.FIG. 7C may be interpreted as a synthetic radio pair within an ASIC, inwhich the integrated processor functions as a modem.

FIG. 8A is a view of power states of a BT radio showing multiple sleepand standby states with modularization of power consumption. The statescorrespond to the BT protocol stack. The lowest level of functionalityof a BT radio is a SLEEP mode running with low power clock only. Toapproximate an “always listening” radio mode, a minimal STANDBY statealternates in rapid succession with a “PASSIVE LISTENING ONLY” mode, inwhich the radio will receive Bluetooth radio signal traffic and mayforward received signals to the processor, but does not transmitresponses or solicit inquiries. In this PASSIVE mode, the device isunresponsive while listening for and recording non-specific radiocontacts and may not be discoverable. By adjusting the STANDBY/LISTENINGONLY duty cycle, a very low energy, low latency system can be achievedthat meets performance goals in most respects for an “always listeningradio” (ALR) and “wake up radio” (WUR). The latency is almost notperceptible to the user, and the radios are readily able to resume theconnected state in a familiar piconet without user attention orintervention, for example, by transitioning from STANDBY to CONNECTED ina few quick steps.

A discoverable Bluetooth radio may be configured to listen for (i.e.,SCAN) and to respond to PAGE and INQUIRY signals from other units. Theseenergy states correspond to “INQUIRY SCAN” and “PAGE SCAN”. In ACTIVElistening, the device will recognize and respond to inquiries and pagesthat include a recognized access code. A PAGE is a radio signal thatinitiates a connection. The radio unit that receives the page respondsin a way (by sending an FSH packet) that leads to a formal CONNECTEDmode between the receiving and transmitting radio units. In CONNECTEDmode there are two substrates: MASTER and SLAVE, which for any twodevices are interchangeable.

Bluetooth radio is notable for its robust resistance to interference anddropped connections, and has been widely adopted. The BTLE radioprotocol standard is attractive than BT Classic and BTDM protocolsbecause of its low energy consumption. Advantageously, controllers withintegrated BT radio cores operating at 1.8V are readily available. A BTradio in standby “always listening” mode may burn less than 30 uAh powerwhile retaining the capacity to wake up the processor and accessorycircuitry from deep sleep in response to (i) a qualified radio commandfrom a smartphone or a reference hub (ii) in response to sensor data,(iii) or in response to ambient radio traffic having selectedcharacteristics, and thus supports portable applications for IoT use.Channel listening without response participation consumes only 0.3 mA atparts of the duty cycle when the receiver is on. In standby betweenlistening periods, power consumption drops to less than 60 uA(Karjalainen O et al. A Comparison of Bluetooth Low Power Modes, 7thIntl Conf Telecomm. 2003. IEEE DOI: 10.1109/CONTEL.2003.176900). Bycontrolling latency in a reasonable range, overall power consumption canaverage out as a sub-milliwatt load (while offering ALR continuouslyduring extended remote deployment).

In the newer BTLE standard, inquiry is limited to three out of fortychannels in the BT spread spectrum. Selection of the advertisingchannels was made to avoid most competition with WiFi channels thatoverlap the BT spectrum. When BT devices elect to exchange data, theycan do so in an extended advertising state that uses some of the datachannels not reserved for advertising. Devices can also exchange FHSpackets and coordinate frequency hopping regime across the data channelsto avoid interference. However, what this schema gains in reducedlatency for discovery also has the effect of reducing traffic density inthe unused data channels. In one application of radio scanning of thedata channels, unused channels can be populated in extended advertisingmode according to the vacancy rates of the channels so as to betterdistribute bandwidth usage. What emerges from the scans is adistribution of channel usage across the spread spectrum (data andadvertising channels), and an index can be derived from thisdistribution pattern provides insight into the familiarity orstrangeness of the locale surrounding the XCB device. Devices thatencounter primarily traffic on the advertising channels are clearly in apublic space that is readily differentiable from the more balanced datatraffic that characterizes a home or office. With increased availabilityof synthetic radio, the capacity to “sniff” all the BT channels fortraffic is realized and offers the users a simple method for scalingtheir encryption efforts in direct proportion to the local radiotopology or concentration of advertising channel use.

BT radios may also be operated in a BEACON TRANSMISSION mode, which isnot connectable. The radio broadcasts a canned message at a regularinterval and is unresponsive in this state to any radio responses orinquiry traffic. A baseline energy budget for a BT radio innot-connectable advertising mode may consume about 30 uAh assuming anintermittent transmit period of 20 ms, a transmit cycle of 2.5 sec,(i.e., 1440 transmits per hour), and a transmit power of 3.5 mA (0.3-30mA depending on packet type and radio hardware). In some BTradiobeacons, the transmission duty cycle is adjustable. Transmit powerand frequency may be configured according to the application, and withincreasing miniaturization of chip architecture to 14, 10 or even 7 nmgate structures, total energy consumption continues to fall sharply,enabling increasingly longlasting IoT devices in packages using eitherdisposable or rechargeable batteries.

Connected units establish a “pairing” relationship that anticipates thefrequency hopping regime and any HOLD, SNIFF, or PARK timing. The BTbaseband/link manager configures low power sleep and standby modes thatseparate active transmission and reception sessions.

Access codes define the specificity of the relationship between theunits. These formalities are native to the Bluetooth specification,which has received an essentially global adoption as the BT standard forwireless devices ranging from headsets to keyboards to printers tothermostats, smoke alarms, coffee pots, and smart doorlocks tosmartphones.

Power states associated with 5G cellular network management are drawn inFIG. 8B. The energy states correspond to a Cellular radio packetenvironment protocol stack. ACTIVE/CONNECTED mode can include reducedpower states. Power savings is achieved by reducing the duty cycle forthe radio and associated processor (DRX, eDRX, PSM). These energy statesare established by protocols set forth by network operators and byhardware features native to the devices; the UE and the network agree ona wake up schedule, i.e., a “duty cycle” with designated down time.

Following power up, the radio can exist in a low energy DISCONNECTEDIDLE state until authenticated to a network. Once connected to anetwork, reduced power modes that do not include regular updates atfrequent intervals are problematic in cellular radio. If the connectionis lost and the device goes into low power disconnected idle, the userequipment (UE), without an assist, cannot be aroused from sleep orcontacted by the network except during a designated “wake” period. Inconnected mode, the system implements only PSM as a standby condition.DRX and eDRX states operate on a reduced duty cycle in which theinterval between network refresh windows cannot be extendedindefinitely. If the network connection fails, the unit defaults back toDISCONNECTED IDLE and must initiate a new connection in order to betracked by the network.

A Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol controls the air Interface. Themajor functions of the RRC protocol include connection establishment andrelease functions, broadcast of system information, radio bearerestablishment, reconfiguration and release, RRC connection mobilityprocedures, paging notification and release and power control. By meansof signaling functions, the RRC configures the user and control planesaccording to the network status and allows for Radio Resource Managementstrategies to be implemented. The operation of the RRC is guided by astate machine which defines specific states of the UE relative to thenetwork.

LTE power states have evolved with the introduction of 5G. In LTE, theEPS (evolved packet system) Connection Manager is in IDLE unless thereis an active connection, whereas in 5G, the Connection Manager connectswhen the user equipment is attaching, and stays connected whether theconnection is active or “suspended”. In other words, the RRC is inDISCONNECTED IDLE or CONNECTED for LTE, and is INACTIVE or CONNECTED for5G.

Standard cellular radios of smartphones may have signal strengths of 0.6watts or 3 watts (for comparison, most Citizen Band radios transmit at 4watts). Battery voltage is typically 3.8V. As a result, a typicaltransmission consumes 150 to 800 mA, not a trivial amount. Total currentload on a smartphone in use ranges from 0.6 to 1.9 A, of which only 50mA is related to WLAN radio draw. Other processes such as GPScalculations, processor boot and instruction set execution, cameraimaging, capacitive screen sensors, and LED display lighting account forthe remaining draw. LiPo batteries in Android smartphones may have abattery capacity of 3000 to 4000 mAh. Not surprisingly, most smartphoneusers find that the battery requires daily recharging, as would not beacceptable for a micro-sized device that is to be remotely deployedwithout access to a recharging dock for extended periods of time. As aconsequence, a radiotag device for IoT use must find energy managementsolutions that surpass conventional cellular performance benchmarks.

In one embodiment, BT radio power states can be used to manage cellularlow power states so as to implement a more robust standby condition. TheBT radio core can actuate and adapt the cellular modem (and deviceprocessor(s)) according to more flexible rules that override theinflexible duty cycle that governs cellular extended sleep modes inconventional cellular modems. The BT radio can also control a CALL HOMEevent, which includes the initiation of a cellular Connection Requestwith network attachment if absent. In other words, the BT radio canassist in recovering from a cellular connection failure.

In our experience, in the XCB devices 10,22,1510 a,70 a,70 b,70 c andapplications described here, only about 4% (or less) of the energy atypical cellular modem expends is actually needed. More than 90% ofcellular modem power can be throttled off—on the condition that thecellular radio activity is throttled by the BT radio modem as describedhere. With stringent application of integrated power management, XCBdevice field life readily exceeds one week in richly functional use, andcan approach 1 year in remote monitoring applications. Power savings areachieved by selectively powering the cellular modem and controllingpower to the processor according to the state of the BT radio, and byestablishing qualifying radio signals and radio traffic patterns that,when intercepted, wake the processor. By using the BT STANDBY “alwayslistening” mode to control the cellular modem, a “Wake up!” command maybe executed so that the cellular modem of the device is activated toinitiate a cellular network connection with a cloud administrativecenter on any available cellular network. The initiation of a cellularnetwork connection is termed here as a “CALL HOME” 1.

FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are views comparing and contrasting cellular and BTlocalization strategies. Cellular location tools are termed a “CellularRemote Locator Services Toolkit” and may include triangulation andnetwork-assisted location services. The toolkit includes components ofthe radiotag with cooperative functional connections to a network orsmart device that expand the user interface, display and analyticalcapabilities of the toolkit. The figure defines a CALL HOME 1. A CALLHOME generally includes a current location update and may require a TAU.In one instance, the cellular modem of radiotag 10 is awakened on ascheduled paging window or by a trigger and a network connection with acloud host 1111 is refreshed or re-established. The device 10 may callhome to report location, or may call home to obtain a location fix byPOLTE, for example. Alternatively, location can be triangulated (L₁, L₂,L₃) from cell towers 901 a, 901 b, 901 c, or by GPS, for example. Thelocation may be stored in a database on cloud host 1111 or may be storedin an internal memory of device 10, or both, for example. The currentlocation fix will inform any notification 91 to a user 11 via smartphone30. Once a network connection is established, the user/subscriber 11 hasthe option of adjusting the cellular radio power management and sleepsettings, such as to continuous or more frequent updates so as assist intracking and recovery of the radiotagged asset. Typically the softwareapplication or a cloud host can log and plot aggregated data to generatea map of where the radiotag is located. For example, if device 10 isoutside a safe zone and is in motion without being accompanied inproximity to user 11, then the notification may include the currentlocation with timestamp on a map displayable on the user's smartphone30, and may even show a trail of waypoints over time if the devicecontinues to move. The notification 91 may include more options for theuser to respond or offers of further assistance. By switching thecellular radio to continuous operation, battery life will be shortened,but the option may be loss of the radiotagged asset, so having cellulartracking capacity is clearly an improvement over Bluetooth trackingalone, especially over longer distances of separation.

The Cellular Remote Locator Services Toolkit may also include a servicefor initiating a CALL HOME in response to output from an accelerometeror an electronic heading sensor, for example if there is an impact orthe tagged asset is moving in a direction away from where it should be,circumstances that would warrant getting a current location updatereported to the cloud host and perhaps a notification to theowner/subscriber. The same Toolkit can be configured to report bodytemperature sensor output or temperature sensor output as can be usefulin fever monitoring or cold chain tracking, for example. The radiotagscan include memory for storing sensor data output so as to be useful fora wide range of specialized applications as will be described furtherbelow.

Cellular location fixes are less useful over very short distances, butthe combination with BT in radiotag 10 offers an elegant solution thatuses the best characteristics of both radios, combining the CellularRemote Locator Services Toolkit and the Bluetooth Proximity LocatorServices Toolkits.

FIG. 10 depicts Bluetooth radio locating capability. This is ashort-range function and uses radio proximity determinations to zero inon the location of a lost asset. We term this functionality theBluetooth Proximity Locator Services Toolkit. In this instance, the BTradio of user handset 30 listens for a signal identifiable as the signalof radiotag 10 and identifies a received signal strength (RSSI) of theBT radio signal. The signal strength is an approximation of proximitywithin a range of a few feet to a few hundred feet. Bluetooth radioantennae are not generally directional, so RSSI is indicative of aradius around a BT radio signal source, shown here centered on radiotag10. As the user 11 gets closer, the signal strength increases and thelocation of the source of the signal is more obvious. The signals of BTradiotags are distinguishable by their RUIs, and in one embodiment, auser 11 who is searching for a lost item can open a user interface onsmartphone 30, and by pressing a device-specific icon on the interface,cause a particular radiotag to emit a beep or flash so that its locationis revealed to the senses, even if partially concealed. The command istransmitted in a BT signal to the radiotag. Alternatively, the handset30 can display a detailed map of an area, as may be refined by UWBdevice installations, and pinpoint the lost device emissions in the mapspace. The Nordic nRF52840 BT chipsets have offered directional antennahookup for several years, and with increasing sophistication in theradiotag finder market, directional antennas are realized in theminiature radiotag body using diversity and fractal antenna types. Byelectronically switching the baluns of paired antenna from a balanced tounbalanced receiver characteristic impedance, a simple “hot/cold”directional antenna pair is obtained.

Bluetooth range finding may be initiated at distances of 300 to 500 ftin some conditions, but proximity tracking is strongest within 20-40yards, and for longer distances, the cellular tracking techniquesdiscussed with respect to FIG. 9 may be more effective. For comparison,commercially available GPS, by itself, is accurate only to 20-30 yards.Thus, the light, speaker and buzzer of an alarm apparatus that can beactivated when the user is within sight or hearing of the radiotag ismore effective than GPS alone. The cellular and BT tracking systems ofFIGS. 9 and 10 are complementary in geolocating a missing asset, childor pet; a missing radiotag can be located via cellular triangulation ata long distance, and then when the user is in BT radio proximity, theuser can actuate a beeper or LED on the radiotag 10.

As described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,392,404, 9,892,626, and 1,050,281, anyhappenstance discovery of a BT radio signals by a smartphone belongingto a community of users can also result in recovery of a lost item.Briefly, looking ahead to FIG. 13A smartphones may be configured toreport BT radio signals and RUIs to a cloud host, and by matching theRUI to a user profile, the cloud host can generate a notification to theowner 11. A map can be displayed in which the map coordinates areobtained from the system and an icon displaying an approximate positionof the radiotag.

Advantageously, the transient BT radio contact between a communitysmartphone 31 and a wayward radiotag 10 can be used to leverageactuation of the cellular modem of the radiotag. A report 1301,1302(FIG. 13A) transmitted to the cloud host via cellular tower 901 a bringsthe cloud resources of the system to bear on recovering the lost asset.When the cloud host receives a report of a signal matching theidentifier of a lost radiotag, the system can generate a BT radio signalcommand to turn on the radiotag's cellular modem, and can send thatcommand 1303 (FIG. 13A) to the radiotag via the community smartphone 31,as described in below.

The Bluetooth Proximity Locator Services toolkit includes components ofthe radiotag and cooperative functional connections to a network orsmart device that expand the user interface, display and analyticalcapabilities of the toolkit.

The Bluetooth Proximity Locator Services Toolkit may also include aservice for initiating a CALL HOME in response to sensor data output.For example, an impact as sensed by an accelerometer can cause theBluetooth radio core to broadcast an undirected Bluetooth advertisementfor help, and to activate the cellular modem. A Bluetooth proximitymonitoring system can cause the cellular modem to uplink data if anotherBluetooth device breeches a proximity limit threshold mandated forcommunicable disease mitigation. The same toolbox can cause a CALL HOMEif a Bluetooth radio tether is lost or fluctuates. The BT toolbox caninclude a dynamic gain adjust and can transmit a TX POWER index in itsmessages. By assessing received signal and transmitted signal power, apath loss can be calculated. The radiotag can increase transmit power ifneeded to recover a lost or intermittent radio tether, for example. TheBT toolbox can also include memory for storing and whitelisting radiocontacts, such as members of a familiar piconet, and can prepare radiocontact records of familiar and unfamiliar radio contacts as part of asnapshot of the surrounding BT radio environment to assist inlocation-related services. The radiotags can include memory for storingsensor data output so as to be useful for a wide range of specializedapplications as will be described further below.

And with implementation of synthetic radio capable of UWB radio at 6-11GHz operation, proximity monitoring can be significantly improved.

FIG. 11 is a general flow chart of a method 1100 for operating locationmanagement services with an economy of power consumption. In theanalysis, a radiotag 10 is operated with a companion handset 30 and anapplication for executing the algorithm 1100 is assumed to be installedin computer-readable media on the handset. The analysis is directed atcorrectly identifying scenarios in which a location fix is needed andthe cellular modem should CALL HOME.

Generally, any monitoring of location begins with a memory thatassociates an initial “location fix” in memory with a timestamp at timeT=O. This memory may not be in the device 10, but may instead be storedat a higher network level, for example in a smartphone 30 or in a cloudserver 1111. Generally, the initial location of the radiotag and thesmartphone are assumed to be in close proximity, as during setup, or inthe morning of a workday when both items are where they are supposed tobe. At time T=O, the location of the smartphone can be taken as a proxyfor the location of the radiotag and no further location fix by theradiotag is needed. Updating the location of the smartphone is a routinematter and is not an issue. The more pertinent question 1101 is whetherto get a location fix by activating the cellular modem of the radiotag10. While it may be desirable to have a current location for theradiotag at all times, from a power management standpoint in a portabledevice, this is not practical. Getting a location fix consumes power.

The decision tree for whether or not to get an updated cellular locationfix for the radiotag at a future time T=T+t, where t is an intervalselected based on predictive accuracy, can be made so that unnecessarylocation fixes are avoided by attention to a) initial location, b) thepresence or absence of defined safe zones, c) data related toaccelerometry of the radiotag and the smartphone, and d) any recentchange in relative proximity of the radiotag and smartphone.

In a first approach, the location fix at time T=0 can be classified 1102as whether the location is inside a “Safe Zone”, where a safe zone isuser defined as a space in which order is maintained and things arewhere they are supposed to be. By using radio-delimited safe zones, aYES or NO answer can be given to the question of whether a radiotag isinside or outside the safe zone. If the radiotag device is “tethered” toa reference hub or a smartphone by a radio signal that defines andanchors the safe zone, then the need to actually get a new location fixmay not be urgent unless the tether is broken and lost or isintermittently broken. If the radiotag is not in a safe zone, then itmay be necessary to get an updated location fix, but only if conditionsare met that merit the energy consumption. Outside a safe zone, there isno simple assurance that something will stay where it is supposed to be.

A device that has moved cannot be assumed to have remained in itsestablished location. If device 10 includes an accelerometer 623, thenthe simplest sensor output can be a MOTION truth value, TRUE or FALSE.Because the smartphone also has an accelerometer, a Truth Table can beconstructed 1103 comparing motion truth values for the radiotag versusthe smartphone. The quality of motion (e.g., hard vs soft acceleration),the speed, duration, and the direction are also useful, but the simplestand most economical bit of information from the sensor is whether motionhas occurred or not.

If neither the radiotag nor the smartphone have moved (FIG. 11, 1104),then the radiotag can continue to SLEEP. If motion of the radiotag hasnot occurred 1105, but the smartphone has moved, and the radiotag is notin a safe zone, then it may be appropriate to generate, by thesmartphone, a LEFT BEHIND alert, and to actuate the cellular modem ofthe radiotag for a CALL HOME so that its current location can be trackedand the owner/subscriber can be notified. In some instances, however,smartphone motion may occur that is incidental to normal activity, andthe LEFT BEHIND alert is reserved for situations in which the radiotether link is lost or about to be lost. A radiotag that has not moved,but loses its radio tether to a smartphone, may CALL HOME to cause aLEFT BEHIND alert to be sent to the smartphone if the radiotag is not ina safe zone 1105. If motion of the radiotag has occurred 1103 at timeT=T+t (i.e., after an elapsed AT, where the time interval isprogrammable), then it may be useful to look (1106) for a change inproximity. Over a range of several hundred feet, RSSI is a firstapproximation of distance between the radiotag and the smartphone. Theproximity may be increasing or decreasing. Proximity is measure byBluetooth radios as part of core competencies of BT radio and thesmartphone will continuously monitor the RSSI of the radiotag signal aspart of routine operations. And if there is no change in proximity, thenany motion signal 1103 may be spurious and would not necessitate a needfor a new location fix. Proximity will continue to be monitored.Similarly, an increase in proximity (strengthening RSSI 1109) isintuitively not likely to indicate a risk of loss of signal, and thealgorithm 1100 can be looped to continue to monitor for motion andproximity.

But a fading or intermittent RSSI 1108, as indicates decreasingproximity and increasing separation, could be followed by a break in theradio tether, and for a tracked asset, may necessitate an immediate CALLHOME to get a new location fix and to generate a LOST or LEFT BEHINDalert notification to an interested party. The LOST alert generallyoccurs if a motion mismatch was detected between the motion of thesmartphone and the radiotag, and the LEFT BEHIND alert occurs if therewas not motion of the radiotag but the smartphone was in motion.

The logic of the method helps to distinguish between conditions thatnecessitate expenditure of energy versus conditions that permitresumption or continuation of a resting sleep or standby state. Underordinary conditions, a sleep state would not be interrupted to CALL HOMEunless there was a pattern of motion and/or a change in radio proximity.

Exceptions could be made if the motion data is more granular, forexample a hard impact could merit a CALL HOME with status report even ifproximity data is unchanged. And it may be appropriate to maintain anawake cellular network connection if Bluetooth radio proximitymeasurement is no longer possible because the signal has been lost, evenif there is no motion.

The time interval AT for iterations of the method 1100 may be adjustedaccording to conditions. For example, in a safe zone, infrequentexecution of the loop may be unnecessary. An interrupt flag on theprocessor can be set against the accelerometer output. Iterations can bemore frequent if the motion activity is greater. Outside a safe zone,the loop may be executed more frequently, and the timing can bedependent on the nature of the motion input, on temperature or on achange in temperature, on changes in acoustic patterns, or on changes inBluetooth radio traffic patterns, for example. When not needed, thedevice can be paused in SLEEP 1107 (FIG. 11).

Similar information can be obtained from other sensors. For example, atemperature sensor may provide evidence that a device has moved from aroom temperature environment to an outdoor environment. A compass,G-sensor, or gyroscopic sensor output can suggest a change in attitude(or altitude). Acoustic information collected by a microphone may alsosuggest a transition from one environment to another. Motion sensor datacan be collected and transmitted as described in U.S. Pat. Nos.9,961,523 and 10,638,401 without added length of the BT radio messageformat, for example, and similar packaging can be used to transmit othersensor outputs. Recently, heading sensors have reached chip scale, andcombine gyroscope and compass with 3D accelerometry to vector outfluctuations of momentum around a consensus heading and velocity. Thesechips are finding increased use in improving the logic needed forefficient utilization of cellular connectivity in XCB devices.

FIG. 12 demonstrates sequential use of Bluetooth and cellular radios asa proximity tracker in a hybrid Bluetooth/cellular wireless system 1200for monitoring radiotagged assets, here a “lost keys” scenario. Hereradiotag 10 is shown attached to a keychain 110, and the scenario is onein which the keys are dropped by an owner 11 while enroute to anappointment. In the sequence of snapshots of FIG. 12, as the owner 11walks, companion device 30 monitors signals from the radiotag 10. Thisdata may be shared with a cloud host 1111 in sequential transmissions1231,1232,1233. Initially, all is well, but the owner drops the keychainat 1234, and does not realize the keys have been lost.

System 1200 can detect the drop of the keychain in several ways. Theremay be a loss of the BT signal, but before that, from accelerometer andmotion or heading sensor data, the system can infer that the owner iswalking ahead without the keychain because motion or heading of theradiotag has stopped even though the owner has kept walking. The systemflags the spot 1234 as the last known location of radiotag 10 andrecognizing the illogic of the motion sensor data or other indicia ofdisorder, issues a notification 1235 and causes an alarm such as a bellor a vibrator on the owner's handset 30.

Devices 10 may use a multi-axis accelerometer 623 to detect movement andvelocity of the device, a useful bit of information in understandingwhat is happening to the device. Is it being moved? Has it fallen still?Answers to these questions can be of great help in knowing where to lookfor a lost device and systems for generating accompanying alerts andnotifications that provide motion sensor data are described for examplein U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,564,774, 9,774,410, 9,900,119, 9,961,523, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/959,250, and US Pat. Pubs. 2015/0356862,20150356858, and 20180190103, wherein all said patents and applicationsare co-assigned at this filing and are incorporated herein in full byreference.

In past versions, the logic for detecting “lost” or “left behind”scenarios is resident in a software package installed on the user'ssmart device 30. However, in an advance in the art, the XCB device canbe provided with firmware that monitors BT radio traffic from theowner's smartphone and other BT local sources and if there is an abruptchange, can CALL HOME 1236, uplinking current motion, heading and radiotopology data. Because the network is intimately monitoring thesmartphone's position, the mismatch can be almost instantly recognized.This eliminates a nagging latency that has been observed in practicebecause the smartphone OS forces the finder app to operate in backgroundwith a lag of up to 10 minutes between updates. Transferring some of thesmarts to the XCB radiotag, and getting a quick uplink from the XCBradiotag to the system host, the problem of late recognition of “lost”and “left behind” scenarios is eliminated.

The owner may realize that there is a “lost” or “left behind” problemwithin a few seconds and go back to retrieve the keys, but if not thesystem 1110 continues to intervene. If the owner becomes so farseparated that Bluetooth connectivity is about to be lost, as evidencedby a weakening RSSI, then the device 10, lying on the ground, will useits cellular radio to broadcast another alarm 1236 at cell tower 901 dthat is relayed 1237 to the cloud host 1111. When the owner finallyrealizes he has lost his keys, he may activate a screen on his handset30 and is guided by a map display back to the spot 1234 where the keyswere lost. The system pushes the map onto the foreground screen when theuser pulls out the smartphone. As radio proximity is restored and theowner doubles back toward spot 1234, the owner can use the BT ProximityLocator Toolkit on smartphone 30 to activate a beeper or light on thelost radiotag 10 and then search using hearing and sight. Navigationusing a smartphone has increased dramatically in speed and accuracy andis driven by the emerging market for personal location data, andspecialty markets such as self-driving cars, for example.

Even if someone else picks up the keys, for example, and turns them into the cashier at the nearest business from which the owner would haveexited, the system 1200 will know that the keys have been moved and viathe cellular radio can pinpoint the updated location where the keys areto be found.

The administrative server 1111,612 (FIG. 6C) keeps location data and canhelp the user/subscriber recover the keys even from across town oracross the other side of the world. The system will not alarmunnecessarily, such as when the keys are in a safe place at home, butcan be quick enough to catch a user who is about to leave his keys inthe car.

Similarly, a user/subscriber can program radiotag 10 attached to akeychain 110 to automatically tag the location where he parks his car.For example, when the car has stopped moving and the owner has exitedthe car, accelerometric and heading data is recognizable ascharacteristic of parking a car. Or a button press may be used. Theradiotag sends this data to the companion handset 30 or host server, anda map pin is stored in memory that shows the location and the time thecar was parked. The map pin will be updated if the car and driver movesagain. It is a simple matter to call up this information if the ownerhas forgotten where his car is parked. And perhaps of equal value, thesystem can keep track of time on a parking meter, flag a warning whenthe time is almost up, and even contact an automated metering systemoperated by a city to add minutes when the owner is unable to tend themeter.

By incorporating cellular radio, the distances at which lost devices areretrievable is increased from tens of meters to tens or hundreds ofkilometers. For example, a device that has been pilfered may show anunexpected burst of motion, resulting in an UNAUTHORIZED MOTION alarm,but mere notification is insufficiently speedy to result in itsimmediate recovery. However, with a cellular connection activated, thedevice can CALL HOME 1 from wherever it ends up, and will provide alocation where it can be recovered. In addition, the owner's friends andthe community of user/subscribers can also watch for it. Any smartphonethat detects the BT radiotag signal or an active cellular networkconnection becomes a global finder for locating the lost item.

At any time BT connectivity is good and the companion smartphone 30operated by a user/subscriber 11 is in BT radio proximity, the cellularmodem of radiotag 10 may be kept in SLEEP mode to save energy. SLEEPmode will have features of PSM mode, for example (FIG. 8B). Alterationsto PSM, DRX and eDRX modes can be triggered remotely using Bluetoothradio signals routed through a smart device or reference hub that isconnected to the cloud, or when the cellular radio is AWAKE andreceiving direct commands from a cellular radio network in a pagingwindow. The cloud host can then immediately send a notification to theowner's smartphone 30, or if that opportunity is missed, the hard impactof the keychain when dropped can trigger actuation of the cellular modemof the radiotag, and the radiotag can make a CALL HOME 1, reporting itsstatus and location to the cloud host. The cloud host then can commandthe radiotag to keep its cellular modem active while simultaneouslynotifying the owner.

Logic conditions in which the cellular modem is in SLEEP mode are those,for example, in which (a) the radiotag 10 is in a familiar “safe”location, such as at home or at an office, and not moving away from thatlocation; or (b) is receiving a familiar BT radio tether signal from ahub or companion smartphone 30. Also, when accelerometry and motionsensing indicate that the device is stationary, the processor may shutdown the cellular module until movement is detected. If movement isdetected, the cellular wakes up to CALL HOME if at all, only accordingto a regular schedule, the periodicity of which is selected by the useror by the requirements of the network to keep the cellular deviceauthenticated on the network.

Some logic rules for activating cellular modem may be based on RSSI.Other contextual information available to the cloud host or to theuser's handset may be used to determine what if any added interventionis appropriate.

FIGS. 13A and 13B form a composite view that illustrates discovery andtracking system features in a “lost dog” scenario over an extendeddistance that includes several cellular towers (the distance being largeenough that cooperative engagement of both the BT and the cellularradios is required to recover of the lost item). FIG. 13A illustrates aseries of events that result in a cellular network connection and alocation fix. FIG. 13B extends the concept of Bluetooth ProximityTracking as a complement to cellular tracking.

Initially, at point A, the owner 11 attaches a new radiotag 10 to hisdog's collar, and installs “application” software in a companionsmartphone 30 so that the radiotag RUI can be captured and the deviceset up for use. When setting up a new radiotag 10, a prudent owner willgenerally select eDRX and PSM settings to limit radio activity of thecellular modem to short periods or intervals. In contrast, the BT radiois typically set to “always listening” and will immediately respond toBT radio commands from smartphone 30.

By way of illustration, the dog jumps the fence and runs off. By pointB, the dog is lost. At this point, the cellular modem is asleep and theBT radio is listening but is out of range of the owner's smartphone 30.At C, the radiotag 10 is out of range of cell tower 901 e, and even ifit was in range, the cellular modem is in SLEEP mode and not availablein a paging window. Because the cellular modem is programmed to be onand to CALL HOME only at certain intervals set up in eDRX or PSM (or ifa cell tower is not available at the active time), the call will not gothrough, such as occurs at point C.

The situation improves at point D. The lost device 10 enters BT radioproximity to a compatible smartphone 31 carried by a community user 13,who is passing by. A Bluetooth discovery event 1303 occurs that allowsthe BT radio of the passerby's smartphone 31 to connect to the BT radioof device 10, and the passerby's smartphone sends transmission 1301 tocloud host 1111. The message 1301 contains the radio unit identifier(RUI) of the lost radiotag, along with a timestamp and typically ageostamp.

Almost instantly, the cloud host server 1111 sends a command 1302 backto the lost device 10, commanding the cellular modem to wake up and CALLHOME. A network communications link is established at tower 901 f.During the brief time in which the two devices 10,31 are in BT radioproximity, the cloud host will “borrow” time on the community device tosend a BT command 1303 to the lost radiotag from smartphone 31;essentially using the BT radio of the community device 31 as a proxy forthe owner 11. This can be an AT command sent to the XCB cellular modemover the BT radio, for example. XCB radiotag 10 is preprogrammed to knowhow to make a CALL HOME and that information is stored with its SIMmodule. On receipt, radiotag 10 is configured to wake its cellular modemand override any cellular power management protocol.

Typically the network command to CALL HOME is queued for delivery whilewaiting for any first discovery of a lost radiotag so that it can beautomatically and quickly initiated during any brief BT discovery event.In this way any fleeting BT contact can be “leveraged” to power up thecellular radio location tools of the lost device 10.

Once the cellular modem is ACTIVE and CONNECTED to a network, it canreceive direct cellular commands 1304 from the cloud host or from itsowner via cell tower 901 g. Almost simultaneously, (point E) the cloudhost server 1111 notifies 1304 the owner 11 and displays a map locationof the lost dog on the owner's handset 30. As instructed by the owner,who can now enter direct cell-to-cell radio messages, the lost device atpoint F is updating location on a more frequent schedule 1305,1306. Thecellular radio of radiotag 10 is now ON and a handoff to a next celltower 901 h is a routine matter at point G, referring to FIG. 13B.

By points G and H, cell towers 901 h and 901 i have received andforwarded a series of waypoints to the cloud host in signals 1307,1308;this continues 1309 at cell tower 901 j, so that the owner can log atrail of waypoints tracking the lost device through the series of celltowers and extrapolate where the dog is going. Dashed circle 1310indicates an approximate cellular location fix at point H.

Each cell tower reports an updated location with timestamp and the cloudhost updates a map for the user on handset 30 so that the user canestimate an intercept point to catch the lost dog. By the time the lostdog is at point I, the owner is waiting to intercept it at point J. Forfinal tracking at point J, the owner will switch on the BluetoothProximity Tracking Tools on the handset 30. By doing a sweep, anincrease signal strength may be detected. When closing in (dashed circle1311), using the Bluetooth Proximity Locator Services Toolkit, the ownercan send a command from the handset 30 to the radiotag 10 to launch analarm state, causing a buzzer to go off. In one embodiment, the radiotagis configured to emit a dog whistle alternating with an audible tonethat the dog has learned to obey. Even though the dog is in an alleyway,the owner can readily find it (or the dog can find the owner) using theaudible tone and the approximate position of the cellular location fixas shown on a streetmap of the area displayed on smartphone 30. Oncommand from the Toolkit, an LED on the radiotag may also be illuminatedto improve visibility if the alley is dark. Using these tools, thecombination of network assisted location fixes and BT proximity radiocommands, the dog is quickly re-united with the owner, even if the doghas strayed across town or into another State. Even though cellularcoverage is spotty in some rural areas, if the owner can get closeenough, BT radio is sufficient to know where to spot the dog.

More generally, in one embodiment, the tracking methods enabled by thesystem of FIGS. 13A-13B include receiving a message that identifies atransmission from a lost radiotag at cloud host 1111, the cloud hosthaving an administrative server configured with an instruction set andan administrative database containing user profiles, such that theinstruction set includes instructions for: (i) parsing the message so asto extract the radio unit identifier (RUI), any sensor payload, and anyassociated timestamp, proximity measurement, or geostamp coded therein;(ii) then, based on the owner identification, sensor payload, and anycontextual information associated therewith in a user profile, (iii)formulating a command or a notification, such that the command ornotification is based on rules associated with the owner profile in anadministrative database and any rules implemented by a systemadministrator on behalf of a community of members; and finally, (iv)transmitting the command or notification over a network to at least onesmart device 30, to a remote machine 31, to a radiotag 10 or to anyother actuable device.

In a variant on the lost dog method, the XCB radiotag 10 on the dog'scollar can include a homing button, such that if the dog can beapproached by a passerby, the passerby can press the button to initiatea CALL HOME. The radiotag has an IP Address and will contact a cloudserver over a virtual private gateway to reduce unwanted radio trafficand prevent unauthorized location tracking. The cloud host will receivethe dog's current location, and may even be able to patch through a livevoice call between the owner and the dog, or the owner and the passerby,by which helpful reassurance and information can be exchanged. Suchradiotags may include a speaker and microphone in a weather-resistantpackage if desired. Any voice call made via a packet data environmentwith a radiotag 10 necessarily will consume significant battery power,but if it leads to the pet's swift recovery, then the radiotag can beeasily recharged or replaced.

While the illustration above relates to a lost pet, the same apparatuscan log temperature information in a shipment from point A to point J,for example, or, illustrated in FIG. 40A and FIG. 40B by anotherexample, which relates to “cold chain” data logging. The logged data canbe periodically reported to cloud host 1111 during a scheduled CALL HOMEor if the temperature of the shipment as sensed by the radiotag 10crosses a threshold. Analogously, a button on the radiotag can elicit aCALL HOME to activate tracking, to alert the shipper that the shipmenthas been received, or to prepare a report that plots a temperaturehistory 4000 for the shipment, for example as a function of the routeand miles travelled on map 4001. Temperature spikes 4002 may beindicative of handling or stops along the way. Temperature excursion4003 may indicate a breakdown of the refrigeration system on the truck,for example. A control interface 4004 offers the user different ways toreview the cold chain data and make decisions about the quality of theshipment.

In other embodiments, the method may include provision for transmittinga command such that a physical transformation will be achieved, forexample opening a garage door, or rolling down a car window, where theowner is not in physical proximity and needs assistance in performingthe action. The command to the plurality of remote machines or actuationdevices may be a command to execute a machine action or to actuate adevice.

The owner typically will preprogram the radiotag 10 with a duty cyclefor the cellular radio set, setting wake/sleep duration and frequency,and any eDRX and PSM parameters, along with any geofencing and locationsuppression so as to reduce energy drain and activation of alarmfeatures where none is needed. Alarms associated with motion patternsare used to further control unwanted activity. These preset features canbe reprogrammed remotely; even if the device is lost.

Scheduling cell connectivity conserves power by setting rules that helpreduce power loss. The device can be put to sleep for example, when itis safely at home (at a “home location” defined and fixed in memory). Orthe sleep mode may kick in only at night, and the clock in the devicewill turn the device off at 10 PM and back on at 6 AM, for example.Alarms for specific geographical limits may also be preset, as will bedescribed further below.

If the radiotagged asset not found promptly, then the owner can reportthe lost device 10 to a cloud administrative server, generally on a webpage or user interface accessed through a smart device 30. Because theradiotag device is identified in the database by nickname, radio unitidentifier (RUI) and/or IMSI, the server typically can analyze incomingradio traffic reports in real time and flag those reports that includethe identifier(s) associated with the lost device. Because a timestampand location are included with the incoming radio contact reports, theserver can notify the owner and show a map locating the most recentcontact or plot a series of contacts to extrapolate its location. Thesystem assembles information to construct a preliminary location of themissing device. First contact enables the system to now use cellularcommunication and more powerful the more wide-ranging location tools ofthe cellular network(s). These can include AGPS, capture of actual GPSlocations from nearby smartphones, triangulation from cell towers,advanced forward link trilateration (AFLT), POLTE, and use of communityresources to identify radio landmarks associated with the first contact.A map is constructed and the system may present a detailed GUI to helpthe owner map and grasp the location information and take action torecover the device. Based on where the initial contact is, for example,the owner can send the information to friends who might be able toassist if the device has been left at a friend's house.

A strategy for finding the device is quite different if the missingdevice is stationary versus a device that is on the move. If stationary,the cloud host can assemble aggregate information to finalize aconsensus location (the office, the grandparent's house, the doctors'office, the restaurant, and so forth). It is then up to the owner to gothere and do a sweep using the Bluetooth Proximity Locator ServicesToolkit to find the device either using an RSSI sensor as an indicatorof distance, or activating a visual or audible alarm. Positions obtainedby Bluetooth RSSI mapping are generally about as good as those obtainedby commercial GPS, but when in close radio proximity, activation of analarm display, visual or audible or both, will generally be sufficientto find the lost device, even if it has fallen into a dark corner or isin a coat pocket.

The device is more difficult to locate if it is moving. The assistanceof the cloud host is essential. The cloud host will receive periodicreports of cellular contacts, cellular coordinates by GPS, Bluetoothcontacts, and so forth, and may be able to use predictive algorithms toextrapolate possible destinations or intercept points were a realisticattempt can be made to recover the device. Receiving locationinformation from a cluster of cell towers by a process of advancedforward link trilateration (AFLT), AGPS or PoLTE as an alternative tothe traditional triangulation with directional antennas has provedincreasingly accurate in areas covered by cellular service carriers whenused in combination with machine intelligence now becoming frequently apart of every online search. Chances are quite good that the location isgoing to be accurate within a few yards.

As shown in FIGS. 14A, 14B and 14C, XCB trackers are not limited tohuman use. Many areas of the world have spotty cellular coverage, but bytagging animals with an implantable XCB radiotag 1400, their location,even in rugged terrain, can be captured by citizen scientists, who candownload an application, which when installed on a smartphone 33,detects any tagged elk in proximity and sends the location data,complete with individual animal identification, and sends the data to acloud host 1111 operated by the National Wildlife Service for furtheranalysis of the migratory patterns. The application enablescrowd-sourced biology and can also be installed in drones for aerialsurveys of populations.

Persons who are afraid of the animals can avoid them. Where animals andhumans interact, the implantable devices can be monitored, either incell radio areas around cellular radio towers 1399 or byBluetooth-to-Bluetooth proximity radio. In this example, a herd of elk1410 crossing a highway in a rural area are tagged and broadcasting. Anapproaching truck 1398 can receive a warning to slow down 1200 ft fromthe animals. In one instance, a smartphone 33 with installed applicationis alerted to the proximity of the animals and causes a second XCBradiotag 10 on the driver's keychain to speak in a synthesized voice,(Caption 1420 a: “Slow down, elk crossing!”) Bluecell-to-Bluecell radiointeractions are implemented by cellular or by BT radio. A voiceinterface includes a speaker in the device, and optionally a microphone,essentially as a mobile voice-actuated hub.

And in advanced applications, the devices are equipped with piezobuzzers that alert the animals to look up and take caution. The devicesare implanted under the skin of anaesthetized animals in the field, andhave a service life of more than a year, allowing scientists to gain arapid understanding of their range and habits. A temperature sensor logsand sends data that indicates the health of each tagged animal. Similardevices can be used to reduce poaching of elephants in the same way.

A cutaway view of an implantable subcutaneous XCB radiotag 1400 is shownin FIG. 14B. Numbered are a microcontroller 1401 with integral BT radio,a cellular module 1402, and a stack of coin cell batteries 1403 in asealed polytetrafluoroethylene shell 1404, the interior of which ispotted to prevent any leakage. Antennae for both radios are surfacemounted on the PCB or are bayonet mounted. An RFID chip may also beincluded.

The systems described above enable generalized “proximity avoidance”,such as useful for “social distancing” required to reduce viralinfectivity and transmission rates between humans. The COVID-19 pandemichas led to widespread implementation of a prohibition against closeproximity between any two persons, generally defined as a two meter orsix-foot radius around any individual. Persons who approach closer thanthe prescribed distance are at greater risk of transmitting the virus inan aerosol or by direct contact. Social responsible behavior is toreduce the risk of transmission by maintaining a distance of greaterthan about 2 meters or 6 feet at all times, but particularly when havinga conversation, because the virus can become airborne from an infectedhost during vigorous breathing or talking, even when the host isasymptomatic. Airborne droplets and aerosols containing virus particlesare readily carried in the air over short distances.

Analogously to EXAMPLE I, for proximity contact detection and tracing CBradios are used to assess radio proximity. Cellular radio is used toreport radio contact data, including radio proximity data, over acellular network so that a cloud host 1111 can log close contacts forcontact tracing and generate alerts to user/subscribers as needed.Advantageously, the Bluecell devices are enabled to detect closeproximity by measuring RSSI of BT signals emitted from a first radiotagdevice and received by a second radiotag device. Individuals eachwearing a device are automatically monitored for radio proximity. Aspike in RSSI value indicates a close approach of the transmitting andreceiving radiotags and a threshold in the RSSI value corresponds to a“too close” physical distance. The XCB devices not only can enter a TOOCLOSE alarm state if social distance is too close, with associatedbuzzer, synthetic voice alert, or blinking light that has a reminder anda training effect, but the devices collect and log an identifier of theproximate transmitter, be it a BT radio unit ID, an IMEI, an IMSI, orjust a MAC Address, and transmit a summary of the radio contact recordshowing the identifier(s) of receiver and the transmitter radio units,the RSSI value as measured, a timestamp and optionally a geostamp. Thisdata is logged by an administrative server and can be used for follow-upif one of the individuals later tests positive for the virus and thereis a need to trace all the possible contacts back several weeks in timewhere a chain of transmission may have begun.

FIG. 15A illustrates use of a “safe zone” to monitor BT radiotags; shownhere describing use of cloud cutting to enforce an exemplary radiogeofence 1500. Radiotag XCB1 (10) is a dual-radio XCB device 10;radiotags TD1, TD2, TD3, TD_(N) (1510, 1512, 1514, 1516) have only a BTradio. The radiotags are assumed to be associated with selected assetsbelonging to or of interest to user 11, where ‘N’ is an integersubscript indicating a number of radiotagged assets. While the radiotagsmay be attached to assets by any convenient mounting or attachmenthardware, the radiotags may also be built into or embedded in the bodyof the assets. Each radiotag is registered in a user profile on a cloudhost 1111. Safe zones may be used with XCB radiotags for enhanced petfinder services, for example.

Smartphone 30 is operated by user/subscriber 11 and includes softwarefor displaying and operating a user interface. The user interface isdesigned for tracking the radiotags, entering user commands, receivingnotifications, and creating or updating the user profile. The softwaredefines an “application” or “control program”. The user profile includesa programmable definition of geofence 1500 and is stored in computerreadable media in the cloud host 1111.

Geofence 1500 bounds a “safe zone” 1501. The geofence can be defined byGPS coordinates or by reference to a location such as “home” or “office”having fixed coordinates. For example, the geofence can be described inseveral ways: by (a) coordinates for a northwest corner and a southeastcorner of a rectangle (or more properly a “spherical rectangle”) todescribe a geographic area with enclosed topology, (b) a centercoordinate and a radius or diameter, (c) a GeoJson-formatted list ofpoints that outline a polygon; (d) the geographic area between any twolatitudes and any two longitudes; (e) the area above or below analtitude bounding a hill or a valle; or, (f) known dimensions of a roomor building with reference to a fixed point in space and time; withoutlimitation thereto. Once established, the geofence defines a test that acomputer can perform: given the coordinates and location of a radiotagin space, is the radiotag inside or outside the geofence? This simpletest gives rise to a whole range of rules-based commands that can beprogrammed into a system and executed by one or more remote machines.

Having received and stored a user-defined geofence 1500 and safe zone1501, the cloud host manages a system for enforcing rules related to thesafe zone or zones. Any report of radiotags TD₁ through TD_(N) or XCB1at a location that is not within the expected boundary conditions of ageofence will trigger an “exception notification” to the user/owner 11via smartphone 30 or some system intervention. Effectively, the systembecomes a watchdog that monitors location of the assets and issues analert to the registered user/owner if a detected location is not withinthe geofence.

The system includes a community of users 13, each operating a “communitynodal device” (referencing U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,774,410, 9,900,119,10063331, 10361800, 10389459) such as smartphone 31, that scans forsignals from radiotags and reports them to the cloud host. The reportsinclude a radio unit identifier (RUI) of the transmitter and timestampand a geostamp that records the time and place the transmission wasreceived.

For example, smartphones 30,31 make a location determination when aradio signal is received from radiotags TD1 through TD_(N). A record ofthe radio contact that includes a radio unit identifier (RUI) associatedwith the radiotag is timestamped and geostamped before being sent to thecloud host. Signals from radiotag XCB1 (10) may also be reported bysmartphones 30,31, but the cellular modem may make an independentlocation fix using internal GPS or network assisted AGPS.

Based on radiotag location information received from smartphones 30,31,and from any independent contact with radiotag 10, the cloud host 1111looks up any geofence definition(s) associated with each radiotag in auser profile by its RUI and generates an intervention if needed. Thusfor example if an asset associated with radiotag TD3 (1416) leaves thearea demarcated by geofence 1400, any BT radio contact with communitynodal device 31 will result in a radio contact report to the cloud host1111 and the cloud host will issue a notification to owner's smartdevice 30 that indicates the time and location that the errant radiotag1416 was detected outside safe zone 1401. By extension, other communitynodal devices 31 may provide a continuing trail of waypoints that updatemovements of any errant radiotag outside the safe zone so that theowner/subscriber's smartphone can display the trail of waypoints on amap display 30.

If the asset TD3 left with some authorized user (such as a friend), thesystem may be able to note that radiotag TD3 has paired via BT radiolink with an authorized user's smart device, and that information can beweighted by the system in making reports to the owner/subscriber 11. Inthis way, for example, an employer can keep track of assets that areroutinely taken to job sites by employees and returned at the end of theday to a shop or central warehouse.

The timestamp may also be helpful in allowing a user to set timerestrictions on the geofence and safe zone so that short term borrowingby authorized users is permitted, but overnight absence of a radiotaggedasset from the expected location results in an exception notification,for example. If the asset was last linked to an authorized user, anotification can be sent as a query if there is a temporal exception,asking for an explanation to the authorized user, but if the asset leftwith a stranger, the system can attempt to track the asset and willreport any outside radio contacts unless and until the asset is returnedto its expected location within the geofence.

The behavior of XCB radiotag XCB1 (10) is distinct from radiotags thatlack a cellular radio. When radiotag 10 exits the safe zone at 1508, itsBT radio signal is registered by community nodal device 31. A reportwill be sent to the cloud and the cloud can immediately respond with acommand to radiotag 10 to CALL HOME 1 by turning on its cellular modem.Alternatively, the radiotag, recognizing that it is not where it issupposed to be at 10 a, will take a location fix on its own and can callhome to report. On receiving the CALL HOME, the cloud host will generatea notification to owner/subscriber 11 via smartphone 30. Thus, thedevices 10 of the invention enable autonomous tracking that is notpossible with ordinary BT radiotags 12 (FIG. 1).

FIG. 15B extends the concept of radio geofencing to a user who programsa first and a second geofence, shown here as HOME location safe zone1502 and WORK location safe zone 1503. Each geofenced area 1502,1503 isdefined by GPS coordinates or by a radius around a fixed anchor point,for example. In this instance, the user 11 may carry an asset taggedwith radiotag TD3 1516 back and forth between the two geofenced areas.Radio contact reports sent to cloud host 1111 from the user/owner'ssmartphone 30 will show that the radiotag is travelling in uniformproximity to the user. Even though there is motion of both the radiotagand the smartphone, because the radio proximity is unchanged, no systemintervention is needed. Radio contact reports received by an anonymoususer 13 via community nodal device 31 during transit from one safe zoneto another are not actionable if the radiotag is accompanied by theowner's smart device 30. At any time that radiotag TD3 1516 is withinone of the safe zones 1502 or 1503, the system will not alarm orinitiate a CALL HOME if the signal from smartphone 30 is lost. Thus‘safe zones’ provide a valuable tool in reducing the complexity of logicconditions for location management.

By extension, the safe zone is adapted to include proximity to theowner/subscriber's smartphone 30. And a geofence can be time-dependent,such that geofences are enforced only in certain time blocks, forexample. If any of the radiotagged assets are not in their expectedlocal areas at designated times programmed by the user/owner, and arenot in radio proximity to smartphone 30, then a “TAKEN AWAY” or “LEFTWITH” alert may be issued to the user/owner via smartphone 30 or to asecondary authorized user. In this way friends and associates can shareassets but still ensure that unauthorized removal of an asset will benoted and tracked by the cloud host. These actions are all managed onthe cloud host with essentially no burden on the owner, friends or onthe community of users.

The owner/user 11 can select the alerts and threshold values on a userinterface and the alerts are stored in a user profile. Any radiotag thatis stationary when the user's smartphone is mobile could indicate thatsomething has been left behind, and any device that is moving but movingin a direction away from the user's smart device would also trigger a“wayward motion” or LOST alert, for example. For example, if TD3 (1516)is moving with user 11 but TD_(N) (1514) is not, then a “left behind”alert is caused to be issued even before the owner has left the areadefined by work geofence 1503.

BT radiotags TD1 and TD2 1510,1512 are dependent on community userdevice 31 to send a radio contact report to the cloud host so that thesystem can evaluate and intervene if the radiotag has left the safezone. In contrast, radiotag XCB1 (10) is not dependent on an externalmonitor, and can CALL HOME at any time to report a current location orto request location assistance from the network, for example if therehas been a power failure in an office building, if there has been anearthquake, a shock, a temperature drop, or any of a variety ofconditions, including a change in the radio signal environment in itsvicinity. TD_(N) 1514 is passive, and reacts to commands from the systembut is not able to take action if lost; but CB1 10 can report itselflost and act to cause a system notification to the owner or a directintervention. A wayward XCB radiotag 10 (XCB1) can initiate a cellularnetwork connection to report its own position and if that position isoutside the boundaries of a defined safe zone, then the system willintervene, either by notifying an owner/user 11 or by directly causingan alarm display on the radiotag, for example. Radiotag 10 capacity toobtain a location fix can be based on an onboard GPS or AGPS capacity orbased on some cellular network serve such as LoLTE or PoLTE, forexample.

In one embodiment, power management in radiotag 10 follows principlesset forth in FIG. 11 (above). When the initial location is within a safezone around owner/user 11, the cellular modem of radiotag 10 is in SLEEPmode. In response to motion detected by the radiotag, or by loss ofradio proximity detected by the BT radio of the radiotag (whereproximity to smartphone 30 is assessed), the device can wake up itscellular modem to CALL HOME and get a location fix.

Alternatively, the smartphone can monitor RSSI proximity of the BT radiosignal from radiotag 10 and if there is an increased separation(decreased RSSI), for example, the smartphone 30 can send a command tothe radiotag 10 (via the BT radio) to wake up the cellular radio andCALL HOME.

The safe zone can also be defined by a boundary condition established bya “radio tether” to a reference smart device or other stationary anchoror hub. The radio tether incorporates two concepts that were describedin FIG. 11: accelerometry and/or heading data and radio proximity. Forexample, radiotags TD3 (1516) and TDN (1514) may be tethered in apiconet with radiotag CB1 (10). By making radiotag XCB1 the master ofthe piconet, it can generate a CALL HOME if there is some exceptionalcircumstances such as motion or heading in radiotag TDN, which isintended to stay at the owner's desk. The role of master can be switchedamong radiotags and smart devices, so that, for example, the smartphone30 can take over the role of master for radiotag slave TD3 when theowner departs for home, but while at work, device XCB1 can be the masterof the piconet when the owner goes to lunch but does not take theradiotagged assets with him. Where several radiotags are in use, anydiscrepancy between one radiotag and the others increases theprobability that an alert should be issued. Any discrepancy between themotion of a device that defines a radio tether and a radiotag associatedwith the tether will also result in an alert.

In FIG. 15C, mobile safe zone 1504 is defined by smartphone 30, and themoving boundary of the safe zone (dashed circles) migrates with thedirection 1508 of the smartphone 30.

In an exemplary embodiment, the mobile safe zone can be used to monitora companion pet, shown here as a dog with radio collar 1510 a. If thereis excess separation 1509 between radiotag 1510 a and the smartphone 30,such that the length of the radio tether increases to 1510 b, athreshold is crossed before radio contact is completely lost, and thatthreshold can be a trigger for a CALL HOME 1. Location data may berouted through the virtual private gateway 2400 using a private IPaddress that minimizes network traffic and avoids security issues of thepublic IP networks. The cloud host will cause a notification to theowner/subscriber 11 if the location data violates a rule associated withthe mobile safe zone.

Loss of signal from a radiotag can result in a system alert, but evenbefore the signal is lost, the system can detect a fading signal or canreceive motion data from the radiotag 1510 a if the radiotag includes anaccelerometer or an electronic heading sensor, and by comparing thatdata with motion data from the smartphone 30 for example, canpreemptively issue a LEFT BEHIND or LOST alert, for example. If there isa motion mismatch in direction between the smartphone 30 and theradiotag 10, then the decision to wake the cellular modem is easier. Forexample, if the smartphone 30 is in motion but the motion sensor in theradiotag 1510 a indicates no motion, then a LEFT BEHIND alert isgenerated. And if the smartphone 30 is moving 1508 in one direction orat one velocity, and the radiotag 1510 a is moving in another direction1509 or at another velocity, then a “wayward motion” or LOST alert istriggered and pushed onto the user's smartphone 30. Before the radiolink is broken, the system assesses any drop in radio proximity (e.g.,RSSI of radiotag at 1510 b) as sensed by smartphone 30 and causes thesmartphone to vibrate or alarm to call attention to the exception. Oralternatively, a buzzer or vibrator in radiotag 1510 a may be actuatedso that the user takes no more than a few steps before being alertedthat the radiotag (and any radiotagged asset) is no longer moving instep. The system, the owner, or the radiotag may actuate a hypersonicwhistle built into the radiotag to remind the dog to keep up with theowner on a walk, for example.

Prompt alerts simplify the process of retracing one's steps to find thelost pet. Radiotags equipped with motion detectors can provide avaluable stream of data that can be compared with output from a likemotion detector in the user's smart device. With motion or heading data(FIG. 11), easily recognized discrepancies between moving and stationaryradiotags are the changes associated with a getting into or riding in amoving vehicle, which would be readily detected even before radio signalwas lost. The cadence of a walking step is distinctive from that takenon a stairway, for example. Direction that is not copacetic betweenradiotag and smartphone is flagged. Direction that is not copaceticbetween one radiotag and other radiotags of a group is flagged.Characteristics of motion may be recognized by machine learning fromaccelerometry data collected by a radiotag.

RSSI or other measure of path loss provides a criterion to test whetherthe motion of the smartphone and a radiotag are copacetic. Even withinthe mobile safe zone 1504, if one radiotag, for example wayward radiotag1510 b (attached to dog in phantom lines) is moving away from the user11 (RSSI decreasing), but another radiotag TD1 1510 is moving with theowner (RSSI unchanged), the relative motion suggests a discrepancy thatcan trigger an early alert, as would be sent to smartphone 30 and pushedonto the display, or made evident by vibration of the smartphone, forexample, to alert the user 11. Thus the system can signal to the ownerthat the dog has left the trail even before the owner looks back.

In another illustration, radiotags TD3 1514 and TDN 1516 are stationaryand are left within a stationary safe zone 1503 such as a home withfenced yard. Interestingly, XCB radiotag 1510 b (attached to dog inphantom lines) may be in BT radio contact with one or all of thestationary radiotags 1512,1514,1516 when leaving home. If waywardradiotag 1510 a is fails to go with the owner and instead goes down thealley behind the house, for example, the radiotag can cause asystem-implemented alert to the owner if it senses the continued radiocontact with radiotag 1514 as an exception when compared with a fadingstrength of the radio contact with owner's smartphone 30 headed indirection 1508. By assessing radio proximity from the standpoint ofwayward radiotag 1510 b (as compared to radiotag 1510 a), the level ofconfidence that a CALL HOME is needed can be achieved sooner, and forthat reason, the BT radio environment around the radiotag offers usefulclues to early detection of wayward behaviors. Prompt attention tolocation management is critical in developing obedience patternsassociated with “heel” and “come” commands.

In another embodiment, radiotag 1510 a may remember a radio safe zone.On return to a stationary safe zone such as a fenced yard 1503, radiotag1510 a will expect to encounter the familiar radio signals of thestationary radiotags 1512, 1514 and 1516. These can be whitelisted sothat the signals are recognized. Typically these whitelisted BTradiotags would be restored to a dedicated piconet with XCB radiotag1510 a, but for example if device 1516 is missing on return home, thatexception can give rise to a CALL HOME notification to the user 11 viasmartphone 30. In this way, the system can identify missing items beforethe owner suspects they are missing.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are views of a reference hub, shown here with a USB-Amale power fitting for plugging into a wall adaptor, for example in ahome. As shown, reference hub 1600 includes a housing 1602 with facecover and back cover that encloses circuitry. The circuitry includes agreen LED visible through a button or window face 1606 a on the frontcover and a red LED visible through a second button or window face 1606b. The green light is an “ALL GOOD” status light that indicates one ormore radiotagged assets are in radio proximity to the reference hub1600—i.e., where they are is supposed to be. The red light is an alertthat means a signal from one of the radiotags has been lost. A blinkingLED indicates that one of the signals is fading. The hub 1600 is set upusing a GUI provided with installable software on a smartphone or otheruser equipment that guides the user through set up of a piconet betweenthe reference hub and the one or more radiotags. When the owner/user ishome the user's smartphone can be master of the piconet and can monitorthe radiotagged items. When the user leaves home, the hub takes over asmaster of the piconet for any radiotags that remain at home, forexample.

Reference hub 1600 may be plugged into an AC adaptor and may be operatedindefinitely in a wall plug at a single location. In the event ofregional power failure, the hub may have a backup battery power supply,indicated here by a removable battery access panel 1608.

The hub 1600 may be the default master of a piconet that includesseveral BT 12 or XCB 10 radiotags of a common owner. As a communityservice, the hub may broadcasts location coordinates that a community ofusers (or the public in general) can use for telemetry-controlledapplications, for rangefinding, for wayfinding, for finding lostradiotags, and for creating radio tethers or conditional rules-basedactions linked to radio bubble centered on a fixed location. Referencehubs 1600 may be shared. A “Crowd Hub” is a unique service offered bythe system. Multiple user/subscribers may establish safe zones formultiple radiotagged assets using a single hub and associated cloudservice. In some instances the hub is a client; in other instances thehub is a server in relation to the radiotags and any cloud host. Inclient role, the hub may forward data such biometrics or voice to aserver device. In server role, the hub may perform location managementservices for the radiotags and for user equipment. The system willmanage notifications and alerts for radiotags that are connected to ahub-based piconet. LEFT BEHIND, LEFT WITH, LOST, FOUND and UNAUTHORIZEDMOTION services are all supported by the hubs of the invention.

Reference hub 1600 may include an optional speaker and microphone 1609.The larger housing realizes better acoustics and optionally may becircular or spherical in shape and include a directional speaker andmicrophone array. U.S. Pat. No. RE47049 to Li teaches a dynamicmicrophone array for improved voice recognition. US Pat. Nos. U.S. Pat.No. 7,177,798 to Hsu and U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,320 to Wang teach methodsfor natural language query and response interactions. These patentdocuments are incorporated in full by reference. Reference hub 1600 mayinclude a natural language interface incorporating cloud-based speechrecognition and response.

The radius of the radio bubble around hub 1600 is dependent on power.Generally the transmit power is +0 dBm or +4 dBm for BTLE applications,but can be as high as 20 dBm unless limited by law. A higher powerincreases the range, but care must be taken so that an impedance matchedcondition exists between receiver and transmitter antenna and amplifiersfor best results. Because signal fade occurs with distance; given signallosses due to refraction of signals around radio opaque structuralbarriers, and because attenuation due to lossy media such as humanbodies can be significant in crowded venues, transmit power may bevariable, and a subroutine may be executable by the reference hub sothat transmit power can be varied if a radiotag signal is lost. Thepurpose of increasing radio power is to improve the chances that a lostradiotag can receive a command to turn on its cellular modem.

In other embodiments, the hub may include WiFi so that a WLAN can beformed for reporting BT radio contacts to user equipment or to a cloudserver 1111. A combination power and data connection through a USB port1604 is provided as another option for establishing a hardwiredconnection to an internet portal. The device 1600 may be plugged into ahousehold power outlet or into a dashboard of a vehicle, for example,using an appropriate adaptor. In some instances the hub may be solarpowered or powered by kinetic energy for use in outdoor venues, forexample.

When used portably, XCB radiotags 10 consume significant amounts ofenergy when maintaining a cellular network connection. By overridingcellular networking whenever a hub 1600 is within BT radio proximity,the battery drain on radiotag 10 can be minimized.

Hub master device 1600 and radiotags 10,12 have cache memory that can beused to store piconet membership and connection data, so thatinterrupted connections can be rapidly restored. The hub, as master ofthe piconet, can also designate PARK, SNIFF, and STANDBY mode for slavedradiotags, and can manage power consumption of the BT radio, theprocessor, and any cellular modem in the slaves while in BT radiocontact.

The hub can also query qualified devices to determine battery powerstatus and can make appropriate notifications to an owner if particularradiotag needs recharging or a new battery. By extension, whereradiotags are embedded in assets such as cameras and other electronics,the radiotag can report asset technical data selected from temperature,battery status, fault status, and so forth to the hub, and that data isforwarded to the cloud host for analysis. Notifications directed at careand maintenance of user assets can be pooled and automated in this way.

In a variant, the piconet around a safe zone may be set up withreference hub 1600 and smartphone 30 as slaves and XCB radiotag 10 asmaster. The master will minimize its power in scanning for the slaveswith a reduced duty cycle and the slaves can be set to broadcastdirected advertisements at higher frequency. The XCB radiotag makes thedetermination if the radio tether has been broken or stretched and cancall home as needed. The slaves may be programmed to report radiocontacts with the master to a cloud host 1111 when the master is in asafe zone, and the network can follow the master through a companionsmartphone 30 when away from home. This eliminates the need to switchmaster roles from reference hub to smartphone or vice versa.

Each reference hub 1600 may have an IP Address that associates it withthe physical web of the IoT, and may be connected by wired, Bluetooth,WiFi or cellular means to a packet data environment via a GAN gateway orportal. The hub will have one or more RUIs and UUIDs that identify itand its services. A cloud host 1111 that receives radiotag data from thehub is able to extract additional identifiers from a user profileassociated with a UUID or other radio unit identifier associated withthe radiotag. Where WiFi is provided, BT and WiFi may function ascomplementary radios in overlapping LANs and piconets in which aninternet gateway or portal is provided. Where cellular radio isprovided, the capacity of the hub to interface directly with a cellularnetwork provides a direct relationship with an administrative server.

The GAN connection may be to a cloud host 1111 or to a virtual privategateway 2400. The advantage of the VPG is the relative lack ofbackground chatter that can drain battery power and increase latency.The VPG is also much more security friendly for sensitive informationsuch as child location, which may be tracked using the radiotags 10 ofthe invention.

As a matter of convenience, a user interface can be displayed on userequipment by installing a software application, for example on asmartphone. In other instances, a user interface is accessible at awebsite with APIs for managing databases containing administrative anduser information.

FIG. 17 is a schematic of a system with stationary reference hub 1700useful for managing radiotags in a network context. Reference hub 1700includes Bluetooth and WiFi radio sets.

In embodiments, the circuit includes a BTLE radio 1702 controlled via acontroller circuit 1701. Power is supplied from a power adaptor 1708 andbattery 1705 with power supply circuit 1706. The device may beinsertable into a wall outlet power adaptor 1708 as a USB plug 1604 (asshown in FIG. 16), or the power adaptor 1708 may be a computer with aUSB power and serial data plug 1604 a, for example. The power circuit1706 may be configured to convert the power input into a regulated powersignal having a regulated voltage in an approximate range of 1.8 Volts(V) to 3.6 V. For example, the power-supply circuit 1706 can be anysuitable type of voltage regulator, such as a linear regulator, a buckconverter, a boost converter, a buck-boost converter, or a flybackconverter. Logic and analog device power can be supplied via a V_(cc)rail for example, directly from the battery or as regulated by thecontroller 1701 or power conditioning and management unit of powersupply circuit 1706, for example.

The hub may include a Bluetooth radio 1702, a LAN radio 1704, and anoptional GPS chip 1714 with associated antennae 1702 a,1704 a,1714 a,respectively. GPS chip 1714 is shown as being optional not just becauseit may not be supplied in inexpensive units, but also because in someinstances the GPS functionality will be built into the controller 1701,into a cellular radio (not shown), or into the LAN radio 1704. Manycellular radio chips are provided with accessory GPS functionalityintegrated into the die. The GPS antenna 1714 a may be separate from acellular radio antenna, but, in some instances, a combination antennapackage is used. Based on an autonomous or network-assisted locationfix, the reference hub 1700 may function as a “lighthouse radiobeacon”,transmitting Lat/Long or other coordinate information as an openbroadcast, and the message may be used to define a radio tether of ageofence or for community uses and applications.

For use in pet location management, reference hub 1700 can define a safezone in which a pet is free to move around, such as a fenced yard. Ifthe pet jumps the fence and goes for a run, the system will alert theowner. A tethered radiotag 10 may detect a break in the radio tether andwake up its cellular modem and cellular remote locator services toolkitso that a current location update can be sent to the owner at aconvenient smartphone 30 and tracking services can be initiated.

The LAN radio 1704 may be a WiFi radio or equivalent. The BT core 1702of the controller 1701 reports not only BT radio signal data, but alsoan index of received signal strength such as RSSI, and gives anindication of BT radio proximity within several hundred feet. If acellular modem is provided, it is generally packaged in a cellular modemSOC and may be controlled by controller 1701 based on input from theBluetooth or WiFi radios. In other embodiments, data sharing is achievedwith a UART 1740 linked via USB port 1604 with the packet dataenvironment of a wired network.

Optionally the XCB radiotag 10 may include multiple WLAN radios,including WiFi. As synthetic radio is implemented with software orfirmware defined radios, the technical barriers are eliminated forputting multiband radio devices in radiotag-sized packages.

The BT radio 1702 may include correlators used for radio signalrecognition and “always listening” radio power control. Digital messagesinclude access codes, MAC addresses, and UUIDs, but wake commands andother network commands may also be received in BT signals. Antenna 1702a is tuned for BT spread spectrum transmission and reception.Notifications may be sent to the device via either the BT radio 1702 orthe WiFi radio 1704, and may result in a display such as activation ofspeaker 1722 via acoustic driver 1721. Optionally, a microphone 1723 isincluded with audio codec 1724 so that responses to notifications can besent. The hub housing 1602 may be configured for fidelity in reproducinghuman voice and for capturing voice commands by users. Broadbandconnection to a cloud server allows relatively low budget smart plug-inssuch as these hubs 1700 to have a highly sophisticated voice-actuationand conversation interface.

The circuit diagram of FIG. 17 shows non-volatile memory 1710 forstoring program instructions. The circuit may also include flash memory1711 for data logging. The flash memory may supplement cache memoryassociated with the controller 1701.

For example, the non-volatile memory 1710 can store data for configuringone or more sensors 1712 of reference hub 1700, and a set of softwareinstructions that, when executed by the controller 1701, cause thecontroller, or one or more circuits under the control of the controllercircuit, to execute routines for transmitting BT and other wirelesssignals, for receiving BT or other wireless data, and for performinglocation management calculations.

The controller may be associated with a packet composer and decomposerthat works in concert with buffers and registers of memory. The volatilememory of the memory circuit 1711 can include registers and buffersconfigured for storing records and data received from sensor package1712, from a linked smart device 30, from WiFi radio 1704, from BT radio1702, from the optional GPS chip 1714, and for buffering outgoingtransmissions, for example. In some embodiments, controller 1701 is anSOC that includes a BT radio core.

RAM 1711 is provided for storage of volatile data, such as for datalogging of sensor data from sensor package 1712, which may containmultiple sensors, for example, such as temperature, humidity, noise, andso forth, and may function as part of a “smart home” or “smart building”platform. Stored data may include data from sensors 1712 and fromswitches 1707. Data from throw- and button-press switch array (S1,S2,S3)1707 is considered data. The size of the RAM memory 1711 is dependent onthe size of the memory requirement for data. Large caches of radiocontact record logs are not generally stored on board but are uploadedto network when possible.

Stored data may also include radio contact records. The radio contactdata may include host-tabulated sensor data and source-tabulated sensordata. The RAM memory may be supplement cache memory in the processor ifthe data logging function requires it. Memory is generally organized asa rolling stack so that outdated data is dumped from the bottom of thestack and new data is added at the top of the stack if not firstuplinked to the network.

The controller circuit 1701 is configured to generate and format outputfor radio transmission and to select a radio band according to context,radio environment, and power status. When on battery power, BT radio isthe preferred radio. When on AC power, WiFi 1704 may supplement BTradio. In circumstances where WiFi is not available, other options mayinclude cellular radio authentication and communication, or a USBconnection 1604 a, with UART 1740, for example.

BT radio is used to communicate with BT radiotags and smartphones 30,31when power savings is important. BT or cellular may be used tocommunicate with radiotags 10. WiFi is used for LAN networking wheresupported, such as by a home computer or smartphone. The above-describedconfigurations of the circuit 1700 allow the hub, smart devices, andradiotags to communication with one another bidirectionally as part of asystem for managing asset locations.

The controller circuit 1701 also may command a notification circuit 1730to call attention to the data. Circuit 1730 can include one or more LEDs1732 a,1732 b. The hub may include a buzzer driver 1726 and one or morebuzzers 1725 configured to provide notification functions. To create auser-friendly experience, in some instances, RGB LEDs are used incombination with an LED configured as a nightlight, for example. Thebuzzer or LED(s) can serve as an alarm if there is an exception to arules-based contingency, such as loss of a linked signal, or canindicate an “all clear” if the linked connection(s) are intact andwithin expected proximity. In some embodiments, an LCD or OLED displayscreen 1731 may be provided, but generally a fully functional GUI isprovided as an installable software application in a smartphone 30 thatserves as the master of a piconet formed with the hub device 1700 duringsetup of features and user profile(s). The companion smartphone, withinstalled application, also provides remote notification and monitoringthat supplements and enhances any user interface directly part of thereference hub housing 1602.

Still referring to FIG. 17, alternate embodiments of the hub 1700 arecontemplated. For example, the hub 1700 can have an ASIC architecture,with integrated controller circuit 1701 and integrated communicationssystem. The radios 1702,1704 and the controller circuit 1701 can be onseparate chips or on a same chip. Radio 1704 may be a WiFi radio in oneembodiment, but other suitable LAN radio protocols may include Zigbeeand Thread, while not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, using a small solar cell (not shown) associated witha reference hub 1700, the current needed to maintain the Bluetooth radiofor intermittent transmission of sensor data can be met from orsupplemented by the solar cell output. In other embodiments,triboelectric structures that harness kinetic movement to generatecurrent sufficient to support an always-listening radio are realizedexperimentally, demonstrating that the devices of the invention are wellpositioned to find increasing number of applications for future IoTneeds.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating logic for safe zones establishedaround a stationary reference device such as the reference hub 20,1700(FIGS. 1 and 17). By installing a reference “hub” at selected locations,a user may define a virtual radio “geofence” that is anchored to thehub. Radiotags 10,12 are tethered in a piconet to hub 20,1700. Bycoupling the reference hub to cloud host 1111 for real-time uplink ofdata, data from the radiotags can be aggregated to administer a safezone. The safe zone is useful to prevent radiotagged assets fromstraying outside the geofence or in reminding the user what to take withthem when they go out, for example. “Lost” and “left behind” alerts arereadily administered with minimal latency. A smartphone is useful forconveying notifications to a user, but a pocket XCB radiotag 10 withminimal user interface, a wall mounted XCB radiotag 1600 with minimaluser interface, or a wearable XCB radiotag 3500 with voice and OLEDdisplay, can provide the user with notifications and guidance as part ofa cloud system for location monitoring services by incorporating a basicoperating system or firmware for administering rules-based conditionallogic related to safe zones and radio tracking. The smartphone 30 mayprovide a more detailed user interface that has utility in setup ofcustomized safe zones, but once established, the system can provideservices even in the absence of the smartphone.

A beacon signal from a reference hub 20,1700 can “tether” radiotaggeddevices to a home or office location, and a radiotagged pet, forexample, can trigger an alert if the pet (wearing radiotag 10,12) leavesa fenced backyard. Children's activity can be monitored, and so forth.Reference hub 20 is illustrated schematically in FIG. 1 and in moredetail in FIG. 17 (1700).

Once a radiotag 10,12 is a member of a piconet, it can remember itsreference hub “master”, and can resume the piconet even after theinitial radio link is broken. Masters can also be switched, so that forexample a stationary reference hub 20,1600 can serve as a master of apiconet in a home, while a smartphone 30 can serve as a master of thesame piconet when at work. This is achieved by making the reference huband the smartphone both members of a piconet and then reassigning therole of master according to the location of the smartphone. In anotherembodiment, the BT piconet can also be defined with a radiotag 10 asmaster and reference hub 20,1600,1700 and smartphone 30 as slaves, ifdesired, and can allow the master a prolonged standby duty cycle inlistening only mode while the slaves, which have more power, do morefrequent directed advertising. The concept of a “lazy master”, in whichradio activity is limited to passive listening with active PAGING modelimited to situations in which the radio traffic around the radiotagchanges, is an advance in the art, and achieves an improved balance ofpower utilization and latency for the battery-limited radiotag devices.

To administer a safe zone, in another embodiment, assuming radiotags10,12 in the role as slaves, the slave devices may transmit their radioidentifiers (RUI) and motion or heading sensor data with regularperiodicity to a master reference hub 20,1600,1700. The stationaryreference hub is assumed to have a wired power supply and hard data linkto the cloud host and can operate independently of a smartphone. Theportable radiotags do not need to perform extensive calculations or beprovided with complex software. RSSI determinations are inherentfunctions of the BT radio core, and motion sensor output can be reducedto a single bit for transmission. Heading sensor output can also besimplified for basic functions. Heading is motion, but is motion in avectored direction, whereas motion per se can sometimes be random,inconsequential or incidental. Algorithms for monitoring radio proximitycan be made available as part of software installable on the referencehub 20,1700 or can be implemented by cloud resources. The energy budgetfor radiotags 10,12 is primarily related to periodic beacon messagetransmission in which the message includes a RUI and any UUID, plusoptional fields for sensor data or a user name, for example, all within31 to 37 bytes of a typical advertising message. A BT transceiver isgenerally provided so that the radiotag can respond to a command toenter an alarm state or turn on the cellular radio modem, but aprogrammable MCU is not required for complex computations. BT radios areprovided with firmware that administers the BT radio stack and linkmanager so that BT radios are capable of advertising and discovery ofother BT radios that are close by. CONNECTED and ADVERTISING modes weredescribed earlier with reference to FIG. 8A.

A local piconet having member smart devices, reference hubs, andradiotags, for example, can be administered to establish stationary safezones in which slaves in a piconet are set up and remember their masteror “reference” device and their CONNECTED state in each safe zone. Themaster defines the safe zone by a radio tether. The access codes used bythe members of the piconet define the relationships among the membersand are stored in memory. The master can be a smartphone, but forstationary installations, a reference hub that has a BT radio and awired power supply is more practical.

Hub devices may include WiFi and cellular, or WiFi instead of cellular,and with either WiFi or a wired connection, the reference hub has thecapacity to contact the cloud host independent of the owner'ssmartphone. Smart plug-in devices that have a voice interface withspeaker and microphone may be adapted as hubs, for example.

The system may include a predictive algorithm, and by machine learningcan refine its predictions based on experience. Motion, heading, orradio distance of the radiotags can be compared with position of astationary reference hub. When averaged, RSSI, relative radio proximityand heading are good indications of the length of the radio tetherbetween the reference hub and the radiotag and can be relied in adecision tree.

Flow chart FIG. 18 illustrates a general method 1800 for operating safezone services as part of asset location management. Radiotags areattached to or embedded in assets in need of location monitoring. In theanalysis, radiotags 10,12 are operated as members of a piconet aroundreference hub 20,1700. A radio tether can be unidirectional orbidirectional. An application for executing the algorithm is assumed tobe installed in the reference hub 20,1700 or operated remotely on acloud host 1111. A user interface may be operated on a smartphone 30 orsome other smart device. Remote notifications to an owner/user will besent to the smartphone or to other user equipment. The initial analysisis directed at correctly identifying scenarios in which the systemshould issue a notification in response to an exception to one or morerules. The rules relate to the safe zone defined by a radio tetherbetween the radiotag and the reference hub. Generally a notification isnot needed if the radiotag is initially in the safe zone and has notmoved significantly and the radio proximity is unchanged or increasingin strength. If a radiotag has moved and the radio proximity is fading,then a LOST notification may be appropriate. The relative motion of asmartphone 30 may be a consideration elsewhere (FIG. 11), but is notconsidered here so as to focus on what the reference hub can achievewithout the smartphone. Radiotag 10 is assumed to include a cellularmodem that is in a SLEEP mode by default, but which can receive alocation update command during a preset paging window or via a BT radiocommand to the BT radio. Power to the reference hub is assumed to beunlimited, and an emergency battery can be supplied as part of the hubunit, but careful power management of the radiotag 10 is necessary inorder to achieve a satisfactory balance of battery size and portableservice life per charge.

Generally, any monitoring of a safe zone 1801 begins with a memory thatassociates a “location fix” in memory with a timestamp at time T=O. Thismemory may not be in the device 10, but may instead be stored at ahigher network level, for example in a smartphone 30 or in a cloudserver 1111. During setup the radiotag and the radio center are in closerange, and the RSSI of a signal from a radiotag, as received by thereference hub, is indicative of radio proximity. At time T=O, if theradiotag is in the safe zone 1802, then no location fix by the radiotagis immediately needed. While it may be desirable to have a currentlocation for the radiotag at all times, from a power managementstandpoint in a portable device, this is not practical. Getting alocation fix consumes power. So the more pertinent question 1803 is thenext location fix—when to get it—by activating the cellular remotelocator tools of the radiotag 10?

The decision tree for whether or not to get a next cellular location fixfor the radiotag at a future time T=T+t, where t is an interval selectedbased on predictive accuracy, can be made so that unnecessary locationfixes are avoided by attention to (a) data related to accelerometry ofthe radiotag, and (b) any recent change in relative proximity of theradiotag and reference hub.

Assuming radiotag 10 includes an accelerometer 623 and/or heading sensorwith digital output, then the simplest sensor output can be a MOTIONtruth value, TRUE or FALSE 1804 or HEADING vector and velocity forexample. The quality of motion (e.g., hard vs soft acceleration), thespeed, duration, and the direction are more useful, but the simplest andmost economical bit of information from the sensor is whether motion hasoccurred. If motion has occurred, then the device may have been moved,and the location stored in memory may no longer be valid. If motion ofthe radiotag has not occurred 1804, then the radiotag can continue toSLEEP. If motion of the radiotag has occurred at time T=T+t (i.e., afteran elapsed AT, where the time interval is programmable), then it may beuseful to look for a change in proximity 1805. Over a range of severalhundred feet, RSSI is a first approximation of distance between theradiotag 10 and the reference hub 20. The proximity may be increasing,decreasing or stay the same depending on whether the RSSI isstrengthening, fading or about the same. Proximity is measure byBluetooth radios as part of core competencies of BT radio and thereference hub will continuously monitor the RSSI of the radiotag signalas part of routine operations. The radiotag can also measure RSSI of thereference hub signal and report that as part of a smoothing operation toreduce noise in the determination. Binning and averaging are also usefulto smooth RSSI data over small intervals.

If there is no change in proximity 1806, then any motion signal 1803 maybe spurious and would not necessitate a need for a new location fix.Proximity will continue to be monitored. Similarly, an increase inproximity (strengthening RSSI, 1808) is intuitively not likely toindicate a risk of loss of signal, and the algorithm can be looped tocontinue to monitor for motion and proximity. Heading sensor data, whichis output as vectored momentum, is more indicative of a significantchange in location, and may be stronger in predicting the need for alocation update than any fluctuations in RSSI, which can give falsepositive indications of significant location change.

A fading RSSI 1807 that is more than a fluctuation in signal strength,as indicates decreasing proximity and increasing separation, could befollowed by a loss of signal, and for a tracked asset, a lost radiotether signal may necessitate an immediate CALL HOME by radiotag 10 toget a new location fix and to generate a LOST ALERT notification to anyinterested party.

Exceptions could be made if the motion data is more granular, forexample a hard impact could merit a CALL HOME with status report even ifproximity data is unchanged. A sustained motion in a direction isinequivocable in signaling a change in location that could merit a CALLHOME. And it may be appropriate to activate the cellular remote locatortools, even if there is no apparent motion, if the proximity signal hasbeen lost.

The elapsed time interval AT for iterations of the method 1800 may beadjusted according to conditions. For example, in a safe zone,infrequent execution of the loop may be sufficient. An interrupt flag onthe processor can be set against the accelerometer output. But if theradiotag 10 is outside a safe zone, the loop may be executed morefrequently, and the timing can be dependent on the nature of the motioninput, on temperature, or on changes in acoustic patterns, or on changesin Bluetooth radio traffic patterns, for example. The more motionactivity, more frequent proximity monitoring may be useful.

FIG. 19 shows a schematic for power and logic in an alternate embodimentof an XCB radio device. This figure differs from FIGS. 8A and 8B inshowing active interactions between the BT state controller 1901,processor 1902, and the cellular modem 1903. All three units have SLEEPmodes 1911,1912,1913. The processor core and cellular modem aregenerally defaulted to their deep sleep modes. The BT modem 1901 isstructures so that different state functions may be separately powered,and the default mode is STANDBY. STANDBY power consumption is furtherreduced by alternating with SLEEP 1911. Other BT functional states areindependently powerable, and include INQUIRY SCAN, PAGE SCAN, TRANSMITDATA, EXTENDED SCAN that make up the link layer 1921. Also enabled is aPASSIVE, LISTENING ONLY State 1922 that intercepts BT traffic withouterror correction or ARQ and a TX BEACON MESSAGE State 1923 in which thedevice emits a periodic radiobeacon message and is not connectable.

In PASSIVE, LISTENING ONLY State 1922, the device can toggle power anddata to the core processor at an I/O pin 1931 in order to generate logentries of received radio traffic in flash memory and can send a command1932 to wake 1933 the cellular modem if a qualifying signal is received.The cellular modem can also be waked by a command 1934 from the coreprocessor.

BT active standby is convertible to inquiry state (with extendedresponse in BTLE), page state, connected state, sleep state, and has twopassive modes, one for passive “always listening” and the other fornon-connectable beacon transmission. In one embodiment, the passivealways-listening state controls the processor and cellular modemindependently.

Power management is hierarchical, with the BT core processor having anoverride input to the cellular modem wake-sleep-standby cycle. Thecellular modem 1903 is shown with a CONNECTED state 1940 alternatingwith DISCONNECTED IDLE 1941. RRC CONNECTED (INACTIVE) state may besustained as a network-connected state, and permits DRX, eDRX and PSMpower savings modes. The power of cellular to transmit data is lostafter a network DETACH, but re-authentication to the network can beavoided by toggling the CONNECTED state from INACTIVE to ACTIVE if thecellular modem has not been put to SLEEP mode. For this reason, theMODEM WAKE pin can be used to initiate a NETWORK CONNECTION REQUEST ifthe modem is in RRC CONNECTED but INACTIVE mode or in DISCONNECTED IDLE,and can be used to refresh a CONNECTED link if the cellular modem is inRRC CONNECTED ACTIVE state. By configuring MODEM WAKE 1933 to interpretthe current state of the cellular modem 1903 and to direct it with mostparsimony to active transmission of data, reduction of latency isachieved without excess power consumption. All advertising radiobeaconmessages are limited to a maximum of 48 Bytes and may be transmittedwith a periodicity that is selected for battery life and minimumacceptable latency in the field.

The standard data message structure between transmitting and receivingBT radiosets as designated by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)is published as part of the BT Specification.

FIGS. 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, and 20E are views of digital signal format ofa sampling of advertising packets from various radiobeacon types. BTtransmissions are tightly structured by the baseband and link managerprotocols, but several competing standards have arisen for advertisingbeacon transmissions. These include the iBeacon®, Eddystone, Altbeacon,Estimote, and Geobeacon standards, for example, all competing for IOTplacements in a growing sales market. Eddystone and Altbeacon formatsare open source but most devices are not vendor agnostic. Typicalmessages are 48 octets in length in compliance with the original BT SIGstandard and have a maximum payload of 31 bits or less.

In some cases a MAC Address is broadcast with the advertising message,but in other instances, device addresses are given dynamic pseudonyms orare broadcast behind non-discoverable access codes. Devices may insteadbe identifiable, at least in part, by their “services”. For example, aUUID frame may be broadcast that corresponds to a generic attributeprofile (GATT): which codes a general instruction set for how a deviceworks in a particular application that is called by an attributeprofile, for example a device could contain a heart rate monitor and abattery level detector, or a speaker and microphone, or a link pointingto a webpage. Each attribute is uniquely identified by a UniversallyUnique Identifier (UUID) or similar UID, which in the iBeacon standardis a 128-bit string used to uniquely identify information (data)specific to each type of sensor output. The attributes are formatted ascharacteristics (classes) and services (collections of classes). A“Service UUID” in an extended inquiry response may include shortened16-bit, 32-bit and global 128-bit service UUIDs. A manufacture's UUIDconstitutes a service and may contain overloaded bits as described inU.S. Pat. No. 9,961,523, which is incorporated herein in full byreference.

Open and proprietary beacon standards are compared. The earliest BTradiobeacon standard was the iBeacon format 2001 introduced by AppleComputer (FIG. 20A, Cupertino, Calif.) for the iPhone 6 in 2014, whichcontains as a payload a 128-bit universally unique identifier (2004,UUID), along with major 2005 and minor 2006 frames for advertisinglocation. All beacon messages include a preamble 2002 that is used forclock synchronization and for adjusting power gain of the receiver. Thepreamble results in a calculation of the RSSI of the message. TheiBeacon prefix 2003 is proprietary and includes Apple-defined flags forclassifying messages plus a company identifier. iBeacon messages includea suffix 2007 that includes an index of the signal power of thetransmitting device.

Eddystone is a competing beacon standard introduced by Google in 2015.The format uses an open standard (Apache) that is compatible with bothAndroid and iOS but requires a Google Proximity API installed on asmartphone. Android does not have native iBeacon support. Due to this,to use iBeacon on Android, a developer either has to use an existinglibrary or create code that parses BLE packets to find iBeaconadvertisements. As an added service, Google supplies a lookup web serverwhereby shortened URLs or user identifiers are used to call backgroundresources termed “attachments” from a cloud host server. The attachmentscan be anything from a subdomain link to a video clip. The Google beacontransmission interval is programmable, unlike the iBeacon standard,permitting operation with a reduced battery consumption rate.

Eddystone consists of a family of standards built around common usecases, each having a different flavor of payload. One flavor (FIG. 20B,2010) transmits a URL (as may be compressed when used with a cloud-basedlook-up table). The beacons can switch to another flavor at intervals oron demand. Cloud services are more extensive with the Google beaconplatforms and include the capacity to update messaging on the fly aswell as control over transmission frequency and capacity to omit somefields where a shorter message length is preferred.

In the UID beacon format 2010, radiobeacon message length is transmittedin a prefix 2002, along with Type and Flags that can be used to signaldeep intent to a smartphone receiver that includes a developer's App.The Eddystone UUID 2012 includes a MAC Address, but can be encrypted,and Namespace ID or frame 2013 that may include one on more clientservices offered by the beacon that again tie into code supplied by thedeveloper using the beacons. The payload frames may also include one ormore instances 2014 that specify sub-services. A TX POWER field 2015that closes the message is used by a receiver to improve therangefinding accuracy. TX POWER (dBm) minus RSSI (dBm) is a betterindicator of signal distance than RSSI alone.

In the URL beacon format (FIG. 20C, 2020, the payload includes a webpagereference, often as an encoded URL 2023, that signals “deep intent” to abrowser. The developer's App that opens when the beacon message isencountered takes the smart device to a webpage, and can even fill infields in the webpage for an immediate interactive experience thatmerges the physical world of the IOT with the cloud world of supportingwebpages.

Another Google beacon message type is the Telemetry message (TLM), whichcan include sensor information and a beacon diagnostics suite. TLMmessage may be interleaved with other Eddystone beacon messages toprovide monitoring and maintenance of beacons in the field. Alsoavailable is an “EID” payload, which is dynamic and is used with a cloudresolving service to provide timely or context specific messaging by a“fetch” process. The EID message is limited to licensee-specificcontent, and has stronger privacy settings. Google EID messages containsignal characteristics that are difficult to spoof and can be associatedwith secure location services. Some elements of the Google platform maybe depreciated in mid-2021 but the EID case is included here because itindicates how a radio topology can be shaped by dedicated beaconsoperating in concert with a dedicated cloud service in joining physicalweb radios with dynamic Internet content on demand.

The Altbeacon advertising format (FIG. 20D) is an open source,non-connectable beacon signal 2030. While iBeacons have 20 of 27 bytesavailable for user data (UUID+Major+Minor) the AltBeacons have 25 of 28bytes available (MFG ID, BeaconCode, BeaconID, MFG RSVD) and thus appealto advertisers in need of a larger payload 2033. The access address 2032may be used to key the message to specific users or a general audienceand conforms to SIG standards, not proprietary standards. A cyclicredundancy check 2035 may be included to ensure message fidelity asreceived.

Estimote (founded 2012 in Krakow PL) beacon signals 2040 includeformatting that can be generated using an SDK compatible with bothiBeacon and Eddystone formats, but the UUID frame structure2043,2044,2045 that more closely resemble the iBeacon frames. Telemetrypackets may be broadcast. Transmit power may be altered to improvedlocation tracking in indoor spaces. UWB and NFC radio support has alsobeen added as an option. The TX Power field 2046 appears to be evolvingtoward more sophistication in gaining access to location services.

FIG. 21 is a generic view of a BT digital packet structure. A generalstructure of a BT message as proposed by BT SIG is shown for comparisonwith the commercial deployments depicted in FIGS. 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and20E. As can be seen, significant modifications are being made toimplement proprietary markets.

Starting with the least significant bit (LSB) the message structurespecifies a standard preamble 2002 followed by the SYNCH WORD andtrailer of the ACCESS CODE 2101, and then a PDU Header followed by thePAYLOAD and a CRC. The synch word is designed to identify therelationship of the sender and receiver and to specify a basicsynchronization sequence and clock offset for exchanging messages in thespread spectrum. The payload can be an advertising data payload of 0-37Bytes or a data payload of up to 255 Bytes. The trailer 2102 isgenerally a message integrity check. Messages in the advertisingchannels will include the preamble 10101010 (1 octet); and messages inthe data channels may have preambles of 01010101 or 10101010. The PDUheader will specify the message type, which may be selected from i)connectable undirected; ii) connectable directed, (iii) non-connectable,non-directed, (iv) scan request, (v) scan response, (vi) connectrequest, and (vii) scannable undirected. A stealth access code may alsobe used that will not be accepted by the correlator of BT radios set upfor routine interactions. In this way, the access code confers asignificant level of structure on BT radio interactions.

BT radio signals are formatted as packets. BT devices include packetcomposers and decomposers. BT radios also include correlators withregisters for sorting and identifying received signals based on accesscode or service, for example as described in US Pat. Publ. Nos.2002/048330 and 2009/0086711, which are incorporated herein for all theyteach and reference.

“Access codes” are part of a header that addresses BT radio traffic. Forexample, a general inquiry access code (GIAC) identifies trafficbroadcast to any listening device, and indicates a discoverable device.Other inquiry access codes may be directed to individual devices, suchas particular members of a piconet. The access code may be derived from,but is not the radio unit identifier of the transmitting device or theintended receiving device.

BT unique radio identifiers (RUI) or “radio signatures”, as used here,may be a MAC address of a BT radio device or may be a universal uniqueidentifier (UUID) or a part of a UUID, and may include a serialidentifier assigned by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (BluetoothSIG) as administered through the IEEE Standardization group (accessiblevia a WHOIS-style lookup). The RUI may also include a part number givenby the manufacturer. The SIG standard also permits developers to encodea “group identifier” or “community identifier” inside an extended uniqueidentifier (EUID) issued by the manufacturer, inside the BD_ADDR, orinside a Service UUID. Proxy identifiers such as service UUIDs link toservices associated with a discovered BT device. Identifiers may includepayload URLs and payload unique identifiers (UIDs) that identifyproprietary services. The payload may include frames or “values”containing more information. Payload information may include sub-type orlocation, advertising data, sensor output in digital form, and recordsof Bluetooth radio contacts, for example.

Service identifiers inform the radio of protocols to be followed insending or receiving data, and allow developers to create tools thatincorporate elements of the payload as “deep intent” triggers forsoftware applications. Advertising messages may include one or moreidentifiers and service UUIDs, for example. Other messages may notprovide sufficient information to identify all services associated witha device, but a qualified BT receiver can respond to obtain moreinformation without actually connecting.

For example, identifiers in a message actuate protocols in receiving BTradios that can wake smart devices, direct a smart device to a URL, pusha notification to a remote device, or pull attachments from cloudlibrary resources, for example. A smart device can receive Bluetoothradio traffic from any Bluetooth device in radio proximity, and forwardthat traffic to an IP address associated with a Bluetooth group orcommunity, after adding a timestamp or a location stamp. By doing so,the smart device serves as a “hub” to transfer Bluetooth traffic radiocontact records to the broader cellular network (or vice versa),enabling a host of location-driven services that can be modifiedaccording to sensor data.

Many devices broadcast their RUI or MAC address in the open, or inresponse to a SCAN REQUEST. A class of “BT Sniffers” may detect theseaddresses and compile stacks of addresses and device names as BT trafficmetrics. Devices may also be recognized by the services they advertise.For dedicated peripheral devices, a client application can scan fordevices offering services or features associated with a UUID thatspecifies the GATT services the BT device supports, and in fullCONNECTION, data specific to a service or feature can be transmittedacross the connection.

The RUI address can be an advertising address, a device address, adedicated address of a piconet device, a virtual address, or asubscriber address, as is useful in mesh networks and for creatingwhitelists. Some address standards are open, others are proprietary orare obfuscated to prevent BT snooping.

In recent trends, BT signal payloads may include URLs that link thedevice to the physical web. Alternatively a community identifier istransmitted in a message as part of a header, routing address, orpayload that when recognized by packet decomposer in a receiving device,causes the message to be forwarded to an IP Address and associated cloudhost. This approach has enabled community lost-and-found services suchas described in US Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2016/0294493) which isincorporated in full by reference.

The radio header and payload may also include resource identifiers thatdirect communications protocols in the link layer and activate softwareapplications keyed to the resource identifiers. This approach is seenfrequently with smartphones—installed Apps react in real time to BTtransmissions. For example, a received BT transmission can wake up asleeping device (US Pat. Appl. Publ. No. 2020/0242549), which isincorporated here by reference. More recently, data supplied in thefields or payload of a BT transmission can cause an App to be installed,or if the App is installed and the appropriate permissions are in place,the App can be run at a particular instance in the program as mostrelevant to contextual clues in the received BT signal. This is termed“deep intent” to indicate that the App anticipates the user's thoughtprocess and causes the client smartphone to display the most relevantmaterials from a resource or takes an appropriate action in anticipationof the need. More recently the process has been extended to wallscreens, so that “walk up” computing is increasingly automated byinvisible BT radio transmissions that identify the user and guess theuser's intent from radio proximity or accelerometry data. For example,if a user picks up a shoe in a shoestore, a BT radiotag attached to theshoe will send a sensor output and a wall monitor will display moreinformation about the shoe, or push that information onto the user'ssmartphone.

In connected links, BT signals transmit data. Newer BT 5.0, 5.1 and 5.2standards permit multi-slot messages for sharing larger amounts ofinformation, even encoding of speech. Connectionless data sharing isalso supported in the newer protocols.

In a typical BT interaction, a first BT device will send an INQUIRYpacket 128 times in 1.28 seconds, each inquiry packet is sent in 16 timeslots (10 ms, 625 us each) over two alternating sets of frequencies. TheINQUIRY packet is short, just an inquiry access code. A second BTdevice, operating in an unsynchronized listening mode, intercepts one ofthese transmissions by coincidence (there are 79 possible frequencies[or 40 depending on the standard], three of which are reserved asadvertising frequencies in BTLE). The Baseband protocol causes eachradio to use pseudorandom “frequency hops” to jump from frequency tofrequency over the spread spectrum (U.S. Pat. No. 2,292,387). A devicethat is in INQUIRY SCAN at some crossover hop will intercept a packetwith an inquiry access code that it recognizes, or that it chooses toaccept. The frequency hop protocol is inherent in the access code, and adevice that accepts an access code can then join the hop sequence withthe first device and can send an FHS response packet containing itshardware address and its clock so that the first device can specificallyaddress it with further instructions, if permitted. The interaction maythen rapidly be escalated to a PAGE and PAGE SCAN interaction, resultingin a CONNECTION that formally makes a piconet link in which the RUIs ofthe radios are stored in device memory. The piconet relationship definesone of the devices as a “center” device (“master”) and the other deviceas a “peripheral” (“slave”) for purposes of organizing the transmissionand receive sequences. At the hardware level, these roles areinterchangeable and are controllable by a master-slave switch.

A BT device can participate in two or more piconets as separated by timedivision multiplexing with millisecond separation. While more limited inthe newer BTLE standards, in one embodiment, any BT device may belong toa hierarchy of piconets, in which its participation in a second piconetis alternated with its active participation in a first piconet.

The device in the central role scans for BT radio sources, looking foradvertisements and inquiry responses. The device in the peripheral roleadvertises itself and offers a service. GATT server vs. GATT clientdetermines how two devices talk to each other once they've establishedthe connection. GATT metadata is transferred from server sensor node toclient center node, for example.

To inquire about other radio units in a receiving area, BT radios mayalso promiscuously announce their presence to other BT devices bysending a general INQUIRY access code (0x9E8B33, GIAC). An ID Packet maybe exchanged in response to a FHS packet. Access codes are classed asDAC, IAC and CAC, indicating Device Access Code, Inquiry Access Code,and Channel Access Code, respectively, the details of which relate tolink management. All packets begin with the CAC, a DAC or IAC, and aclock number segment. A correlator identifies relevant packets forprocessing. BT devices acquire information about other local BT radiosin this way.

In a piconet, using link management, devices that are parked or lose apairing connection can ignore public traffic but will “wake up” (almostinstantly) in response to a beacon signal from a familiar or“whitelisted” partner—so as to restore or recover a piconet connection.The listening device can also partially wake up its MCU so as to log anyradio contacts, while not responding further.

Not all radio interchanges result in a CONNECTION, but the listeningradio can record information about the transmission, and by escalatingto INQUIRY SCAN without wasting time or energy, will receive moredetailed information about the transmitting device.

Bluetooth Core Specification, Version 5.2 and Supplement, (2019,incorporated herein by reference), includes an “Extended InquiryResponse”. Data types may be defined for such things as local name andsupported services, information that otherwise would have to be obtainedby establishing a CONNECTION. A device that receives a RUI and a list ofsupported services in an extended inquiry response does not have toconnect to do a remote name request and service search, therebyshortening the time to useful information reception. Backchannelcommunications facilitate the connectionless mode.

FIGS. 22A, 22B and 22C are sample packet structures that relate to theBT advertising and link layers. These advertising beacon messagestructures that have standardized lengths in the range of 31 to 47octets. These tend to be proprietary formats having defined fields inthe header and two to three open fields or frames in the body of themessage for non-format contents such as an identifier associated withthe device or an advertising service. In the case of Eddystone packets,packet types include those for broadcasting URL (or shortened URLlookup) or sensor data. The shortened names tie to a look-up service sothat a device that receives the message can be directed to furtherinformation or attachments.

The shortest packet is an INQUIRY packet 2110 as shown in FIG. 22A, witha length of 68 bits. This is an access code 2111 of an inquiry or adevice ID PACKET of a scan response. POLL 2021 and NULL packets used inmessaging have a length of 122 or 126 bits (FIG. 22B) and include anaccess code 2122 and a header 2123 that defines the packet. The FHSpacket (2141, FIG. 22C) is important in exchanging identifiers and clockhopping schema as part of the connection process prior to further dataexchange by pairing and is 270 bits in length. The FHS packet includesan access code 2142 for addressing the transmission, a header 2143, anda payload 2144. In extended connection mode and connectionlesstransmissions, packet lengths may span up to 5 slots. For fidelity invoice transmissions, higher numbers of repeats of short packets areused. But packets are typically limited to a maximum payload of 258octets (about 2 Kbits) with a total length of about 2854 bits in a 5slot data payload, optionally with enhanced rate packet transmissionwith DPSK at 2 Mbps or 3 Mbps. These details point to the utility ofcellular radio as an enhancement of BT radio for transmission of largeramounts of data at greater speed. 5G tops out at a theoretical 5 Gbps,permitting greater use of broadband services.

FIG. 23 is a more detailed view of an advertising packet anddemonstrates how location and proximity data can be extracted from anadvertising packet to build a radio contact record.

FIG. 23 describes a decomposition schema for an advertising packet 2300that is harvested to generate a radio contact record 2320 with timestamp 2351 and host ID 2352 (referring to the host device that iscapturing the radio contact record). Because advertising packets vary instructure, the correlator is a smart correlator that will categorizeincoming radio signals to efficiently pull out some or all of the usefulfields and to assemble those data into a radio contact record 2320,using null fields where data cannot be recovered. The preamble 2002 ofthe received message will be used to obtain an RSSI for the signal, andany TX POWER 2306 information in the advertising data payload 2305 canbe used to calculate proximity 2356. If heading sensor data istransmitted, that also can be captured. The PDU Header 2303 of thetransmitted signal typically includes length L (2354) and type T (2355)of the packet. The MAC Address TD1 (2353), if transmitted, may be in theADV ADDRESS at the tail of the PDU header or may be part of a UUIDtransmitted by an iBEACON. The receiving device also has a MAC Address,and will insert that in field 2352 of the radio contact record 2320.Service UIDs are also included in the advertising data payload, and canbe taken as proxies of device identifiers. Other parts of theadvertising data may be useful as sensor data and stored in a separatefield DATA1 (2357), such as for example telemetry including temperature,battery voltage, biometric readings, and so forth.

Location, field 2358 may be the location of the transmitting device (iftransmitted), or may be the current location of an XCB device thatreceives the transmission, for example, at about the time thetransmission is received. XCB devices are fitted with means forcapturing location from surrounding networks. The radio contact recordmay also include the device access code in field 2359 as is received inthe ACCESS CODE or synch work in field 2302. This information may beuseful in establishing relationships between BT devices so that theintercepted signals can be viewed as a family structure of piconets andscatternets with master and slave relationships outlined by the use ofGIAC, DIAC, LIAC access codes, for example.

Each radio contact record 2320 can be packaged in a BT data transmission2360, that includes a preamble 2002, and standard BT data packetstructure. Such packets would be sent to a master of a piconet or to asmartphone for example, or to a reference hub, for analysis of themeta-data in the logs of radio contact reports over an interval of time.

“Record making”—refers to creating and logging or storing a record of atleast one datum and an associated timestamp in a memory module of aradioset. Records of a received radio contact may include an identifierassociated with the transmitter and the radio signal strength, forexample. Records may include an EUID, a cellular telephone number, or anIMSI for example. Records may also include a UUID. Records may include ageostamp or other contextual information. Records in storage aregenerally retrievable, such as by accessing or searching a table or adatabase, or other computer-enabled data retrieval systems known in theart. Records may also be uploaded to a higher layer in a network, suchas to a server or other cloud-based service.

In one embodiment, the listening device will make a record of a radiocontact in a log, and will add a timestamp to its record, and ifavailable, may also add a geostamp. While the BT core radioset has alimited set of instructions, it controls power to a processor(microcontroller or “MCU”) and actuates the logic for managing computingand memory resources with executable instructions needed to harvest theBT radio traffic in its local environment. Onboard sensor data outputscan also be coupled to actuation of designated logic systems andexecutables.

“Bluetooth radio contacts” are logged as an array of records in a stack,each record having multiple fields accessible as a database of dataentries. The records are stored in a cache register or flash memory of adevice and may be transmitted as packet data in response to an INQUIRYor PAGE from a qualified center unit.

In one embodiment, each record in the radio contact array is timestamped and records the radio unit identifier (RUI) of the receiving“host” device where the radio contact record is stored and the radiounit identifier of the transmitting device, the received radio signalstrength measured by the receiving device, and optionally a geostamp. AMAC address may also be included. In response to a trigger, the radiocontact log is uplinked to a smart device over BT radio or moreefficiently to a cloud host by making a cellular radio link to thenetwork.

In logging radio contacts, a convention is used for convenience. The“Source” device refers to a transmitting unit that is the source of aservice or data. The “Host” device refers to the unit that enters and“hosts” the radio contact record. Both devices may generate radiocontact records that include sensor data and location. For connectionrequest packets, the terminology “INITIATOR” and “ADVERTISER” are usedto indicate that the INITIATOR sends a SCAN RESPONSE to the ADVERTISERin response to an advertisement packet.

The trigger to uplink the data may be a correlator dedicated torecognizing particular BT radio signatures, or to a particular digitalsensor output from an onboard A/D converter linked to a sensor package,to an IO pin such as a flag from a HOMING button, or to a patternrecognizer, such as a DSP, that can recognize voice fragments, radiosignal patterns generated by a software-defined radio (SDR), or uniquesound sequences. The DSP may also recognize QR Codes or fingerprints.The trigger may be a value presented to a specific I/O port in aspecific logic state of the device. In some instances BT radiosets canbe used to transmit larger datasets such as radio contact logs. But inpractice, the trigger may instead actuate a packet composer to assemblea table containing radio contact log entries as a message for uplinkdirectly on a cellular network via cellular radio to a cloud host, orindirectly via some other wireless radio technology such as WiFi.

Timestamping may also drive a field termed “Time to Live” that specifiesa duration in which a memory is kept or a number of transmissions amemory is kept before it is dumped and fresh context replaces it in aLast in/Last out stack. If the TTL field is an integer, the field cancount down the number of transmission that include a record before therecord is dumped, for example.

FIG. 24 illustrates a similar decomposition of a BT radio transmission2400, here a connection request, but the resultant radio contact report2410 is packaged in a WiFi IP packet 2420 with timestamp 2411 andgeostamp 2412 tailored for transmission through the IP packet dataenvironment to a cloud host and may be analyzed locally or forwarded toa cloud host for analysis of the meta-data in the logs of radio contactreports over an interval of time. The device needed to transmit BT datato a WLAN or WPAN access portal as IP packet data includes a packetdecomposer and composer configured to decompose BT packets and assembleIP packets from the radio contact information. By doing the repacketingat the local XCB device, the timestamp and geostamp are validindications that can be accurately aggregated with other data receivedat higher network levels from other concurrent reporter nodes. A reportfrom an XCB device that receives an emergency access request from a BTradiotag will be received as a set of reports from several XCB devicesthat forward the same emergency access request so that the origin of thesignal can be accurately triangulated, for example.

IPv6 support over BLE with the adaptation of 6LoWPAN and Threadprotocols can result in a crossover between BLE and WLAN comms. IPv6 canbe emulated over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) as defined in RFC 7668according to the Internet Engineering Task Force, for example. But thisstandard does not allow native BTLE transmissions to be routed onto theIP packet data networks. The devices described here map BTLE radiopackets to a standardized database entry format or “record”, and theserecords are shared as a sort of “snapshot” of the BT world around theoriginating device over a WiFi IP packet data environment. This snapshotcan be used for authentication, but also finds a myriad of uses inprovisioning new devices, in erecting geofences, in wayfinding andlocating, and in maximizing throughput in the ISM spread spectrum.Analogous to the 6LoWPAN standard, the snapshot may include 1280 octetsor larger when transmitted over WiFi or using the 6LoWPAN standard, butis assembled from smaller snippets extracted from the advertisingpackets and PDUs in the intercepted BT radio traffic, those snippetsgoing into log entries of BT radio contacts.

In FIG. 25, an IP data packet containing a BT radio contact record isdecomposed to its element parts. The IP data packet 2500 includes apreamble 2522, a header 2523, an IP packet address 2524 of a host serverthat acts as a recipient or clearing house for the records, and apayload data packet 2525 and CRC 2526. The payload 2550 is a radiocontact record, and includes a timestamp 2551, an ID of the host device2552 that captured the radio contact record, an ID of the transmittingdevice 2553 that initiated the radio signal that was intercepted,message type 2554 and length 2555 statistics, a proximity indication2556 that correlates the distance of the receiver and transmitter, anysensor data, UID, service characteristics or URL 2557 in the payload,and a location 2558 of the host device at the time the signal wasintercepted.

FIG. 26 makes clear that the IP data packet 2600 can be logged andtransmitted across a WiFi signal in an efficient and data intensive wayby concatenating the radio contact reports. A multi-record radio contactpayload 2601 is a log of or a “snapshot” of the radio traffic around thehost XCB device for a slice of time. Shown here are ten log records 2600a, 2600 b, 2600 c, 2600 d, 2600 e, 2600 f, 2600 g, 2600 h, 2600 e, 2600j, of individual BT radio signals that were intercepted. The snapshotprovides a real time look at what kind of radio neighborhood surroundsthe receiving device. If the device is in a familiar home office, therewill be the BT printers, the smartphone, the user's radiotags, perhaps aheadset or a BT mouse, all expected members of the radio ensemble thatis characteristic of that home location. The unique radio identifiers ofeach device are combined to form a signature that indicates familiarsurroundings. When the user leaves the front door, some of those radioidentifiers accompany him, and are picked up on the next radio snapshot.Over time, a consensus “portable memory record” of the expected BTtopology of a place is stored in memory of the XCB device or hostserver. The portable memory record 2700 may look like that shown in FIG.27, where useful elements include the Radio ID 2701 of the XCB devicethat generated the record, a timestamp 2702, and a geostamp 2703 thatrelates to the snapshot as a whole. Within the snapshot, the records2721, 2722 and so forth take the form of an array of fields in arelational database. Data may be containerized to limit access and toopen the data for access by a variety of user Apps.

The relational database includes fields for SOURCE ID 2720 (the ID ofthe transmitter of the signal that was intercepted), the type of BTmessage 2704, the length of the message 2705, the proximity 2706 of thehost device to the transmitter, and a field for data 2708 that can beanything from sensor readings to service characteristics, biometricreadings, temperature, or even URLs indicating deep intent pushed by thetransmitters. Field 2730 may cross-reference a whitelist of BT devicesthat are owned by the owner of the XCB radiotag. Field 2732 may indicatebattery life residual in the XCB radiotag device, or some othertelemetry useful in maintenance.

Thus it may be useful to look at the local BT radio topology from thepoint of view of a meta-analysis at a first level, and then based oncorrelator fits to known message types, to set up permission structurefor controlling the “deep intent” features of smartphones and installedapps. So at the first level, defensive smartphone control may bepossible without specificity. Particularly, by calculating a running“strangeness index” of the surrounding BT chatter or radio topology, thelevel of trust extended to recognizable BT messages may have to beadjusted, additional authentications may be needed, and furthersandboxing or “drying” of wet code may have to be engineered to suit thedanger represented by the environmental milieu of BT traffic. On thepositive side, the BT traffic can also have a “familiarity index”, andthis can be used to recognize particular devices having or in need of aspecial relationship, and autoprovisioning a whitelist of those devicesfor immediate access based on history of pairing and history of DIACinquiries, or other local chatter that is characteristic of a safeplace, such as home or a secure office.

Let's take some examples. De-identification of data is doable. It ispossible to know, for example, how many people in a county have beenvaccinated without out knowing who has been vaccinated. It is possibleto know how many dogs within whistling distance have collars that arepaired by a BT radio to their owner's smartphone without knowing wherethe owner's live. It is possible to know how many persons in a city havefirearms in a house with or without having a BT triggerlock if BTtransceivers are embedded in firearms. It is possible to know if yourcamera has a link to your laptop, or needs one. And it is possible towalk up to an ATM machine, tap a smartphone on a pad, and have yourencrypted balance information downloaded to your finance advisor in yourBT device along with link for login set up to be biometricallyauthenticated and to cause a bootstrapping setup of a proprietary WiFi,6LoPAN or UWB connection. Higher data transfer speeds are possiblewithin BT, but the ubiquity of the BT radio interface as a number ofinstalled devices clearly supports increased effort at making the BTradio interface into a flexible hand within the glove of a syntheticradio and antenna capable of M2M communication over a range ofauthenticated connections.

FIG. 28 identifies an XCB device 2800 surrounded by multiple BTradiotags TD1 (2801), TD2 (2802), TD3 (2803), TND (2814), a smartphoneRO1 (33) and having access to a VPG 2400 and a general cloud IPenvironment 1111. Devices TD1, TD2, TD3 belong to the owner's personalpiconet 2810 and generally travel together with smartphone 33. The XCB1device (2800) and the phone RO1 (33) are capable of interfacing withboth the cloud nodes and each other, but also with the BT radiotags. Ifradiotag TD3, for example an umbrella, is left behind as the owner 11leaves home, the XCB and the smartphone receive an indication ofdecreasing RSSI and possibly heading sensor data that indicates thedisconnect, but the smartphone has other priorities. However the XCBdevice has a primary processor level dedicated to monitoring theradiotag envelope and immediately pushes a notification to thesmartphone that alerts the user. The XCB device may also have its ownspeaker and display, but either way, the owner is instantly notifiedthat the TD3 radiotag is at risk of being left behind. This occurs at 8AM while stepping out the door if there is a prediction of rain in theafternoon. RSSI data can be jumpy, header data less so, but it is thesnapshot of radio signals assembled by the XCB radiotag, which shows theTD3 as being an anomaly on several parameters that causes thenotification and intervention.

Similarly, TD_(N) (2814), by example, is lying on the sidewalk ahead ofthe community user 11, and is connected to a headset or radio apparentlydropped by an earlier passerby (not shown). Community user 11 can taphis smartphone 33 to the TD_(N) radiotag, and the shock of the impact isdigitized and sent to the XCB device in a radio contact report alongwith the UUID and MAC address of radiotag TD_(N). The XCB radiotag sendsthis data to cloud 1111, where a look-up table is used to identify thetrue owner of the headset or radio, and a notification is sent to theowner that the lost item has been found. The XCB device also uses avoice interface to tell user 11 that the true owner (i.e., the earlierpasserby) can be contacted by text and invites the user to enter a textdescribing what was found. The cloud service sends the text message andthe current location of the true owner and offers to convey a reply thatsets up a phone conversation that could lead to recovery of the item, orat least to an exchange of instructions so that the lost item can bereturned.

These are simple means by which community resources can be implementedon a cloud host for operating a lost-and-found service that protectsprivacy but maximizes the small efforts of kindness by community membersin restoring lost items to their rightful place.

Simple user-directed control functions are readily established.User/subscribers interacting with cloud hosts via XCB devices can manageor entirely automate many remote machine tasks ranging from turning on acoffee pot, opening doors and windows on a sunny day, turning out thelights at night, starting a video on a nearby screen, taking a user to awebsite, finding parking, initiating a purchase, tracking a lost pet,sharing a file with another device or printer, synchronizing contactlists between devices, and so forth.

In other instances, BT devices and hubs define “safe zones” and are usedfor safeguarding and managing assets, for example. Radiotags associatedwith each asset are radio tethered to the safe zone. In someembodiments, reference hub devices that are not smartphones may alsoinclude software or firmware and may include a user interface in theform of one or more buttons or other control surfaces for operating asafe zone. Conditional logic rules are established by a user/subscriberfor controlling transit of objects out of or into a safe zone. Byintegrating the basic XCB package into each asset, “smart objects” arecreated and can be managed as part of network services by individualusers or system administrators.

BT radiotags may also be used to manage or control proximity. By usingXCB radiotags, proximity-related data may be collected, as may be usefulin contact tracing to reduce spread of infections, for example, and anycontacts that need followup can be uplinked to a cloud host over acellular network connection. Software viruses can also be monitored. XCBdevices that encounter malicious code will report local radio devices toa network administrator. Proximity alerts can then be used to quarantineinfected devices. These and other instances will be described in moredetail in examples below.

In another embodiment, basic connectivity is achieved using asoftware-defined BT radio sniffer in an inexpensive portable package.The BT “radio envelope” around an XCB device, including all theexogenous bitlets and snippets of advertising and data that have beencalled “BT pollution”, is sampled to achieve “situational awareness”.The sampling process includes a correlator that assesses a bitstring forregistration corresponding to one or more whitelists or other criteriathat are built into a gate array. The device may implement Kalmanfilters and semantic algorithms in a miniature platform that achieves ameasure of situational awareness as may be supplemented to supportmachine learning (ML) using cloud resources. Situational awareness feedscontext-driven features, in which context includes location,familiarity, and discovery, within an overall low energy budget for aconsumer device.

And by facilitating internodal transfer and porting language forcontainerized file management with rolling temporary storage, samplingof the radio topology around a user becomes a tool for safe wayfinding.Patterns in the google of bits in a radio environment may be anonymouslysampled and reported as “radio contact reports”. Finding, tracking,scanning, locating and proximity monitoring are provided ascomplementary services supplemented by a Bluetooth Proximity LocatorServices Toolkit and a Cellular Remote Locator Services Toolkit. Datalogging of sensor data and radio contacts enables provisioning of thephysical web, piconets, tracking minders, geofences, libraries, maps,clusters, human interactive, and “proximity avoidance tools” such asuseful for managing social and network interactions.

Looking to the future, it is clear that beacon formatting has notevolved as an open resource, but instead is tied to smartphones andcloud servers built around advertising and the ecosystems of Appsprovided by developers. The range of formatting is such that there isone level of specific data that can be decoded by a compatible App, andanother level of data that is less clearcut in meaning, but isaccessible on the advertising channels of the BTLE standard, and fromwhich inferences can be made without access to a decoder or to a lookuptable provided by the specific developer who released and supports thebeacon. Google's initial offering includes what looks like a roadmap toa BT topology for the physical web of the IOT, with embedded deep intentlinks, but it is no longer clear that a universal authority on beaconmessage content can be relied on for future support. Thus the “BTpollution” that has specialized meaning if the user has the appropriateApp installed on their handset, can instead be used as an ad hoc sourceof information gleened from the patterns in the pollution, as will bedescribed below. Hints of meaning include the channel used by thesignal, the length and type of the signal, any access code, anyidentifiable MAC address if any, and patterns in the payload.

FIG. 29 illustrates a series of radio envelope snapshots 2900 a, 2900 b,2900 c in a time series. The snapshots are taken by intercepting radiotraffic in BT advertising and data channels at 10 second intervals.Passive listening is used so as to not consume more battery power bygenerating back-and-forth radio messages. Each message includes the HOSTID 2901 of the XCB device collecting the snapshot, a timestamp 2902, anda geostamp 2903. In this instance the top ten BT signals intercepted ata moment of time is captured in each snapshot. Five columns correspondto the transmitter identification, the type of message, a length of themessage, RSSI, and any data content in the message.

At the bottom of each snapshot, a familiarity index 2912,2914,2916 iscalculated that highlights the integrity of the BT topology as itaccounts for each member of the owner's BT ensemble. A strangeness indexcan also be provided that accounts for irregular or unexpected BTsignatures associated with a location. The familiarity index also takesinto account location, scoring device signatures that typically remainin a safe zone differently from device signatures that always accompanythe owner. By quickly recognizing the pattern of familiar and unfamiliarBT transmissions in a location, the XCB device can quickly autoprovisiona kit list of what to keep track of, infer actions to be taken if thereis an exception, and also note the overall characteristic of thelocation as a melange of BT radio traffic so that in the future, whenthat pattern is again detected, the device can know where it is. In thisway, the XCB device can know something is lost before the owner does,can guide the owner to the lost device, and can also know where it iswithout the need for GPS, AGPS, PoLTE, or other advanced, energyintensive location acquisition means.

Referring to FIG. 28, radiotag TD3 (2803) is left behind at point 2822marked by an X. Referring to FIG. 29, the combination of a suddendecrease in proximity and a vectored impact in the data columns at 2922is manifested in a summary indication 2923 that one of the radiotags hasbeen left behind. This conclusion is made by the XCB device and iscommunicated to the owner directly or via the smartphone. The XCB deviceperforms the analysis autonomously; further confirmations are obtainedif radiotag 2803 is a smart object having the capacity to interceptsurrounding radio traffic and write a log of recent radio contacts thatis shared with a master device 2800 or with a system server 1111. Bycomparing the logs of multiple radio devices, a consensus emerges andthe “left behind” or “lost” alert can be issued instantly while theowner is still well positioned to backtrack and recover the lostradiotag.

FIG. 30 is a view of a rolling memory stack containing radio contactrecords. In this model, a continuous rolling stack of BT radio contactsnapshots is taken. Anomalies in the data are detected by machinelearning and probabilities associated with predictable outcomes are usedto design interventions. A ten second lag is built into the memorystack. Rapid identification if issues results in a significant uptick inconsumer confidence and successful resolutions of location managementissues. Old data is sent to the network for use in building models formachine learning and is then discarded so that the memory resourcesinside the XCB radiotag are not overloaded.

FIG. 31 is a schematic 3100 of another embodiment of an XCB device.Processor 3170 includes a BTLE radioset 3180 electronically coupled toan antenna 3181 a, including, if needed, an encoder/decoder for parsingdigital radio signals. The processor can be programmed, or otherwiseconfigured, using software resident in ROM (such as EEPROM 3185) or asfirmware, or a combination of both software and firmware. RAM 3184 isalso provided for storage of volatile data, such as for data logging ofsensor data that is transmissible by cellular or BT radio.

The MCU 3170 defaults to low power mode with clock function as adefault, but can be powered up by a signal from the BT radioset oraccording to a power management schedule that also controls the celltransceiver 3183. The power management schedule includes PSM mode fordeep sleep and eDRX mode for intermittent wake at paging windows and forTAU.

Cellular radio modem 3183 with cellular antenna 3183 a is configured toprovide simplified communication on a private network. In oneembodiment, the XCB device is operated as a cellular device accessibleby an IP address on a private network to find and track the whereaboutsof the device via a dedicated and secure 5G private network or gatewayVPG that is administered by a cloud-host administrative server. A SIMmodule may be installed to establish the exclusive IP address in the XCBdevice, with network access restricted to authorized parties such assmartphone 30.

In one embodiment, the cloud administrative host implements the VPG orcloud host 1111 network and uses the IP address to access the XCBdevice. By using the VPG to wake up the XCB device in a paging window asneeded, sleep modes can be increased to save power. For example, an eDRXprotocol can be overridden, or the parameters of a power saving modemodified. And by waking up the cellular device, then added commands anddata can be transmitted to the XCB device and data can be uploaded fromthe XCB device. Once the cellular radio is on, then network-assistedlocation fixes on its transmissions may be performed automatically.

In one embodiment, use of private IP addresses with a VPG reduces theincidence of inadvertent, unauthorized, and network-incidental messagingthat can drain battery life. The cloud host also adds a layer ofartificial intelligence.

Devices having a cellular radio may wake up periodically, get a locationfix, report the location to the cloud host, and then return to sleep sothat the battery life is months or years. In one embodiment, the VPGnetwork may use the location information to create a “trail ofwaypoints” of locations of the XCB devices over time by periodicallygenerating and logging locations obtained by AGPS in an energy efficientmanner. A motion sensor or heading sensor also improves the efficiencyof the devices. For any given time period, if accelerometric motion isdetected that is characteristic of motion, or a vectored heading, aposition fix is requested and fulfilled. For example, the position fixis not repeated unless motion is again detected. In a variant ongeofencing, XCB devices in identified “safe locations” are queried lessfrequently for location updates and not unless motion data is consistentwith an excursion that would take the XCB device outside a designatedrange of the safe location. The tempo of a walking person is one flag,the higher frequency vibration of an automobile ride is another flagthat would trip a location update command inside the XCB device. Thusonly the accelerometer needs to be monitored on battery power unless anduntil a location update command is scheduled in advance or a query isreceived from the cloud host.

The signal strength of a cellular base station can also be monitored, asis typically the case in cellular networks to monitor connections andwhen needed transfer connections from one cell to another cell.Typically, the XCB device location is updated by TAU (Tracking AreaUpdate) when a handoff is made between two cells. Depending on rules setby the cloud host that can be linked to the XCB device user's profile,to local events, time of day, and so forth, the cloud host can also benotified if the XCB device is reallocated from one cell to another.Because this can also occur when cell traffic is being levelled (i.e. bymoving users from a crowded cell base station onto an adjacent basestation having lighter traffic) the cloud host can monitor the basestation carrier channels in the network path to differentiate locationchanges that are traffic load driven versus changes driven by a changein cell initiated because the XCB device detected a stronger signal froman adjacent base station and elected to initiate a handover to the newsystem transmitter.

The device optionally includes an OLED display 3130 and display driver3131.

In some instances, the cellular radio chip 3183 will also contain a GPSposition locator. In other instances, a GPS chip 3188 and antenna 3188 awill be supplied as a separate component(s). Because GPS involves anenergy-intensive signal acquisition and calculation, triangulationmethods for determining location may instead be implemented using thecellular or BT radiosets, and such methods are satisfactory wheremultiple basestations having known locations are available, such as inmost urban environments.

USB port 3181 is intended to operate with charger 3198 to rechargebattery 3199 but may also be used to download program upgrades, forproduct qualification and troubleshooting, and for any other purpose forwhich a USB port may be utilized.

Audio codec 3190 is coupled by a LINE OUT to amplifier 3192, whichdrives speaker 3193. The speaker may be mounted on the housing ratherthan on a circuit board so as to take advantage of any resonance of thehousing shell. The XCB device may include a vibrator driver 3194 and oneor more vibrators 3195 configured to provide notification functions andmay be combined with one or more buzzers. By selecting a higher dBpiezoelectric buzzer (not shown), a FIND function can be realizedanalogous to the FIND PHONE function taught in U.S. Pat. No. 9,892,626,herein incorporated in full for all it teaches. Using the vibrator, anXCB device may be “nudged.” A nudge is useful when a user of a parentdevice wants to attract the attention of the user of the XCB device,such as when a message is sent that needs a prompt reply.

Sensor package 3196 may include one or more sensors that are not switchsensors and are thus distinct from switches 3186 (51, S2, S3). Variouscombinations of sensors may be provided in a sensor package. In somepreferred embodiments, a sensor is a combined 9-axis motion sensor andtemperature sensor. In one preferred device, a sensor is an integratedpackage having an accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer for eachaxis. In some instances, the sensor package is incorporated into theprocessor.

As illustrated here, accelerometer or heading sensor 3197 is associatedwith processor 3170 and may be used to trigger processor functions as inmotion/heading control and left-behind notifications. Generally, an XYZthree-axis accelerometer is included but may also include a 3D gyroscopeand magnetic compass with firmware that generates a heading output tothe processor. In some instances, the accelerometer may be integratedinto the processor and has a number of uses. Input from theaccelerometer, such as a double or triple tap, can be used as a wakeupsignal as part of a power-savings sleep routine.

The device may also be equipped with a Qi charger antenna (not shown) oran NFC antenna 3133 for receiving taps. Each tap can be associated witha transmission of an RFID identifier from the XCB radiotag to a devicesuch as a smartphone equipped with an NFC reader and suitable App. Onsensing a tap, the XCB device powers on the NFC circuit to transmit theRFID ID and causes a bootstrap routine in cooperation with the smartdevice to initiate a BT connection or a WiFi connection for example.

GPS chip 3188 with GPS antenna 3188 a is shown as being optional becausein some instances the GPS functionality will be built into the processoror into one of the radiosets, if present at all. Some cellular radiochips are provided with accessory GPS functionality integrated into thedie. The GPS antenna 3188 a may be separate from the cellular antenna3183 a as shown, but, in some instances, a combination package is used.GPS may be actuated at extended intervals to save power, and may besmart GPS, that is, activation occurs when there is a need, such as whenthere is motion of the wireless device or there is a situation inproximity to the wireless device (as detected from other data feeds)that necessitates, or can benefit from, closer tracking and monitoringof location. AGPS may be used to reduce power.

FIG. 32 is a block diagram view of an XCB radiotag 3200 and a globalarea network with cellular network, Bluetooth network, and cloud host1111. A single radiotag 3200 and a single smartphone 30 are shown forsimplicity but each layer of the network can include many radio units.The radiotag device 3200 has some variations from device 3100 describedin FIG. 31 and will be described in detail in a systems context.

The processor 3270 can be programmed, or otherwise configured, usingsoftware resident in ROM (such as EEPROM 3285) or as firmware, or acombination of both software and firmware. The processor may be forexample a Monarch LTE GM01Q (LTE-M/NB-IoT such as the SQN66430 SiP) orNB01Q (NB-IoT) LGA module with integrated SIM platform (Sequans, ParisFR) for machine data exchange. Monarch SOCs such as the SQN3330generally include an integrated cellular RF front end, but not Bluetoothradio, thus the different layout here as compared to FIG. 31. Sequansmodules typically support a variety of LTE bands for worldwideconnectivity and consume less than 1 μA of power with PSM and eDRX modesand providing for batch data transmission in a centimeter-sizedcombination.

The cloud host 1111 is able to engage directly with smartphone 30 usingconventional cellular or WiFi radio technology. The cloud host may alsoengage with cellular radio 3283 of the XCB radiotag via a cellularnetwork such as LTE. But to save power, the cellular radioset 3283 andthe processor 3270 may default to a power savings mode and it is aBluetooth radio signal from the network or from a companion smart device30 to the XCB radiotag (received on antenna 3281 a and conveyed to theprocessor by Bluetooth radioset 3280) that tasks the processor toexecute some routine that wakes up various higher functionalities of thedevice 3200. These higher functionalities may include initiating anuplink or a TAU by the cellular radioset as in a CALL HOME. In short, inone embodiment, the cloud host sends a signal to the Bluetooth radiosetvia an intermediary device such as smartphone 30, and that signal willcause the cellular radioset to initiate a direct CALL HOME, optionallybypassing smartphone 30. In this way, the cellular radioset can kept ina dormant or semi-dormant state most of the time. The cellular radiosetcan minimize or at least manage the kinds of energy demands illustratedin FIG. 41, where the power consumption of a full TAU is illustrated.

During a CALL HOME, the network can send commands to the XCB device thatinclude modifications to the default cellular power savings mode. A DRXprotocol can be initiated, with provision to extend it in eDRX mode, inwhich the frequency with which the cellular radioset uplinks for anetwork location fix or initiates a data uplink is prescribed by networkcommand. The increased call activity will drain battery power, but thenetwork uses the increased location data to assist in recovering ortracking a lost or errant item, for example, only when needed.

Cellular radioset 3283 with cellular antenna 3283 a is configured toprovide simplified cellular communication. The XCB device may beoperated as a cellular device accessible by an IP address and may beused to obtain and report location fixes to a cloud host. The SIM modulemay serve to establish an exclusive private IP address in the XCBdevice. Typically, network access is restricted to authorized parties.

The information needed to authenticate to the cellular network is storedin a SIM unit that is part of cellular radioset 3283 and can also beused for high quality encryption of data exchanged. Once authenticated,the cellular radioset can be used to uplink data to the cloud host 1111.Using an API, the cloud host parses sensor data, radio contact records,extracts relevant information, and combines that information to generatean executable command that may take the form of a notification, awarning, or an intervention. The executable command is handled by thenetwork engine and may involve one or more smart devices 30 or otherremote machines as intermediaries or may be delivered directly to theXCB device 3200 during a paging opportunity when the cellular radioset3283 is receiving.

Alternatively, the XCB device is enabled to receive a cellular powermanagement mode override signal in a Bluetooth radio signal. That is,the cloud host can command the processor and cellular radioset tooverride a cellular default power management parameter by sending asignal to the Bluetooth radioset. That signal is conveyed to theprocessor, and the command is executed.

Sleep management can be by a restricted schedule of cellular activity,for example an eDRX mode in which network location fixes are obtainedevery 5 min or 10 min, and in which there is a TAU once an hour or threetimes an hour as required to maintain network synchronization and tobalance network loading, for example. During a TAU, if the XCB devicehas shifted out of a tower coverage area, the device will lock on to anew tower to authenticate itself and re-establish an extended DRX modewith the new tower. In this way, hours of location data can be stored inthe XCB memory and uploaded only when an opportunity arises, or can berequested either when the cellular radioset executes a paging windowcall or when the Bluetooth radioset receives a connection request.Expired location data will be dumped after it is uploaded or in responseto an exceeded timeout that necessitates dumping memory to make spacefor new location data.

During an eDRX event, the cellular radio is fully active and linked tothe network, so data can be exchanged and new commands received, butgenerally an eDRX goes by without the need for an uplink of data in apaging opportunity and the only network interaction is to request acellular location fix by the network PoLTE service or an equivalent.

The signal strength of a cellular base station can also be monitored, asis typically the case in cellular networks to monitor connections andtransfer connections from one cell to another cell in response to signalstrength changes. Typically, the XCB device location is updated by TAUwhen a handoff is made between two cells. Depending on rules set by thecloud host that can be linked to the XCB device user's profile, to localevents, time of day, and so forth, the cloud host 1111 can be notifiedif the XCB device is reallocated from one cell to another. Because thiscan also occur when cell traffic is being levelled (i.e. by moving usersfrom a crowded cell base station onto an adjacent base station havinglighter traffic) the cloud host can monitor the base station carrierchannels in the network path to differentiate location changes that aretraffic load driven versus changes driven by a change in cell initiatedbecause the XCB device detected a stronger signal from an adjacent basestation and elected to initiate a handover to the new systemtransmitter.

Data is transmitted via multiple channels, one termed a “trafficchannel” for example, another a “control channel,” and yet another as adata channel containing GPS-related data, although the terminologyvaries. The control channel carries commands to SIM cards of the parentdevices and also carries data packets for SMS text messaging. Thetraffic channel is organized into slots for carrying symbols and on theuplink is controlled by a dynamic allocation of slots to each end userdevice. To avoid an imbalance on the backhaul, slot traffic isasymmetrical, and may be greater in the downlink then the uplink. Innewer systems, slots can be mini-slots for carrying small payloads,slots can be aggregated as needed if reception is good, and packet datamay be transmitted in the aggregated slots to support bit streamingapplications. Dynamic allocation of slots is known in the art.

Continuing on FIG. 32, the XCB device includes voice and displaycapability for cellular and Bluetooth voice and data networking. Thedevice here incorporates a voice-quality speaker 3222, speaker driver3223, and display 3230 with display driver 3231. The circuitry includesa microphone 3225 and voice encoder 3226 for voice transmission. Asimple buzzer or vibrator 3220 and driver 3221 may also be provided.Separate audio and visual codecs are supplied for higher fidelityquality. The chipset can include a Monarch controller (Sequans, ParisFR) with integrated LTE modem. RAM memory 3284 for use in data loggingis adapted as a buffer for audio/video transmission or separate memoryand buffering is provided. The recharging circuit 3298 may include aconnector for a USB power cord or other adaptor, for example. Theprocessor 3270 may also include a digital signal processor (DSP) orneural engine for recognizing voice patterns. In one embodiment, a CEVA(Mountain View Calif.) Bluetooth BTLE or BTDM RF front end chip iscombined with a Monarch (Sequans, Paris FR) cellular front end chip inwhich the Bluetooth radio controls of the power state of both chips.

By adding a voice interface with microphone and speaker, theuser/subscriber can communicate instructions directly to and from to theXCB device without the need for a keyboard. This enables VoLTE (voiceover LTE) or VoBT (voice over Bluetooth). A speaker and microphone haveutility in wearable XCB devices, such as one worn as a wristband or aheadset. The scope and concepts of the invention are not limited toparticular device forms, but may encompass other form factors as arereadily apparent from these teachings. Any embodiments, alternatives,modifications and equivalents may be combined to provide furtherembodiments of the present invention that include an energy harvestinghuman interface or other user interface for a XCB device withoutdeparting from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Interestingly, voice-over-Bluetooth (VoBT) can be enabled for shortrange voice interactions between an XCB unit and a smart device withoutthe need for the more complex voice codex used by a cellular radioset.To save power, the data-over-LTE functions are sometimes limited tomachine M2M data, not voice.

Larger transmissions such as audio recordings and video recordings canbe transmitted using “store-and-share” (“audio SNS” and “video SNS”)protocols in which there is an initial processing of data on theportable device that includes compression by a vocorder. The devicestores for example the audio in memory temporarily, followed byprocessing to encapsulate the digital recording into the frame/slotstructure of a transmission. Transmissions are completed in one or morebursts. The data then transits the packet data environment and isreceived by a cloud host at a designated IP Address. The cloud hostexamines the data, looks up an associated profile of the users,including any permissions, and forwards the message to one or more smartdevices 30. In this way, the digital radio signals are made compatiblewith an Internet Protocol (IP) format and can be displayed or playedback as audio on a smart device or on a XCB device equipped with aspeaker and microphone. Any smart device or XCB device can also sendaudio (or video) messages by the same process of packetization followedby radio transmission in one or more frames.

Frame structure is complex and includes hyperframes, superframes,frames, and slots. In TDD, the frames and slots are transmitted atdesignated times. Each carrier is part of a transmission protocolmanaged by the network and includes its own meta-data, including errorchecking, synchronization, indexing, guard periods, and so forth. Forexample, a 5G network supports text message traffic from a smart deviceto an XCB device in larger slots, but can use mini-slots to carry areply from a Bluecell device to a smart device if replies are limited toa button press of on the smaller Bluecell device.

RAM 3284 is provided for storage of volatile data, such as for datalogging of sensor data. The size of the RAM memory 3284 is dependent onthe size of the memory requirement for data.

Stored data may include data from sensors 3297 and from switches 3286.Data from throw- and button-press switches is considered data. Storeddata may also include radio contact records as described above in FIGS.27 and 30. The radio contact data may include sensor data received fromother radio units. The memory may be supplied as cache memory in theprocessor, or may be provided with extra RAM chip space if more space isneeded for a data logger device. Memory is generally organized as arolling stack so that outdated data is dumped from the bottom of thestack and new data is added at the top of the stack if not firstuplinked to the network. Memory may also include dedicated registers forhandling packet composition and decomposition for example, forencryption keys, and so forth. This memory is generally distinct fromnon-volatile dedicated read-only memory 3285 for storing processorinstructions.

Sensor package 3297 may include a single sensor or various combinationsof sensors. In some preferred embodiments, a sensor is a combined 9-axismotion sensor and temperature sensor. In one preferred device, a sensoris an integrated package having an accelerometer, gyroscope, andmagnetometer for each axis. In some instances, the sensor package isincorporated into the processor.

Bluetooth radioset 3280 is electronically coupled to an antenna 3281 a.Notifications may be sent to the XCB device 3200 via either the cellularor the Bluetooth radioset, and may result in a display such asactivation of buzzer 3220 via piezo driver 3221.

The device may be rechargeable from an optional recharging source 3296.Battery 3299 may be disposable or rechargeable via circuit 3298. Otherenergy harvesting means known in the art may be used to extend theoperating lifetime of the device beyond that offered by one full batterycharge and a switching regulator may be used to manage power to theprocessor and radiosets. Depending on the kind of power available, flagsmay be set that configure the switching regulator and processor.

Alternatively, at least some of the devices 3200 may be hard wired to agrid power supply that has a degree of always on reliability, and thesespecialized devices may function as reference hubs 20. The role of hubsmay be to organize low energy slave beacons into piconets and to relaydata to a network server, for example. In one embodiment, an XCB devicemay be master in a piconet of Bluetooth devices. The XCB device mayoptionally be battery powered, or may be wired to be always on.Combinations of powered and portable XCB devices may also be deployed.

The meta-data can also be used to activate XCB devices to CALL HOME andto uplink relevant data in memory with a cloud host, and to receive newcommands and instructions.

FIGS. 33A and 33B are views of an XCB radiotag 3300 with LED ArrayDisplay configured for “banner” message display and with capacity forsimple inquiries and responses using tactile switches on the frontpanel. The device is adapted for dual BT/cellular communications of dataand voice. The device includes a cellular radioset, a BT radioset, aprocessor, memory for storing radio and sensor data records, and abattery. The device also includes a speaker and microphone and a pair ofbutton press switches for simplified texting of replies to Yes or Noqueries. The housing encloses BT and cellular radiosets and a processoras described in any of the schematics of FIG. 6C, 7A, 7B, 7C, 17, or 31,as representative schematics of a device of this kind—but including herean LED dot matrix array display and speaker with microphone.

FIGS. 34A and 34B show an XCB device 3400 that includes an OLED displayscreen for video graphics, shown here as a color OLED screen withsufficient pixel resolution to display QR codes, emojis, icons, facesand simplified text. The body includes a shell surrounding a hollow corefor the electronics. The device includes an OLED screen display 3402,with miniport for USB-A recharging 3403 and an accessory USB-C or HDMIport may also be included. The face includes pressure sensitive pads forbutton press commands.

The sensor package may include a temperature sensor. The sensor anddevice may be configured for attachment to an object in need of coldchain tracking with temperature data logging as a function of positionor location. The sensor package may be adapted for use in measuring bodytemperature, and the device may be strapped onto or otherwise contactedwith a living body to monitor temperature over time and to periodicallyreport location and temperature, as is useful for fever mapping in aworkplace or community. Typically the temperature sensor (not shown) ismounted on an exposed surface of the underside of the device.

For setup, the device can have a peel-off decal with QR Code over theOLED screen. The initial setup is relatively easy. Each Bluecellradiotag device is provided with a QR code label on the housing.Scanning the code with a companion smartphone intended as a “parent”device (once the needed software is installed) causes a folder to becreated on the smartphone display and takes the user to a menu forassigning the Bluecell “child” device to a particular person (such as adependent minor, an elderly aunt, travelling companion or frienddesignated as an addressee and respondent associated with a particulardevice) or pet, and entering any context or relevant background such asa profile, an appointment list, a calendar, a schedule of regulardestinations and time brackets for each, and so forth. Once programmed,the child device is electronically tethered to the smartphone via a VPG.The smartphone can direct text messages to the child device, or can evencall the device using VOW cellular service. Immediately after setup, thesmart device can also display a map showing the current location of thechild device and any direction of movement (if the circuit in the deviceincludes an accelerometer). This innovation is discussed in more detailin US. Pat. Ser. No. 62/968,105, which is co-assigned and isincorporated here in full by reference.

The transparent QR decal may include a first QR Code that is static, andwhen the device is powered up, other details of the QR Code may beadded, so that a smartphone that is used to read the QR code will see afirst authentication code prior to power-on and a second authenticationcode after power on as a way of preventing counterfeiting. Devices areprovided with SIM cards inside and a QR sticker outside, and the initialpairing is through BT radio of a user's smartphone. The QR code directsthe user's smartphone to a cloud host, the cloud host will recognize thenew SIM IMSI and will go through an activation setup in which BTcommands are sent to the device processor via the BT radio. Subscriptioncellular network access can be bundled at very low cost, enablingprivate virtual gateways (VPG) in which network access is gated througha private IP Address and all packeted data is routed to a privateserver.

The battery is for example a 2400 mAh battery. An NFC antenna is mountedon the underside of the battery, which is a LiPo foil pouch battery. TheNFC antenna can be used for tap-to-touch pairing, for example, and forexchanging secret keys using direct contact to ensure lack ofeavesdropping.

The shell exterior supports ports for a speaker 3404 and microphone3406. Yes and No button switches and a radio display LED are alsomounted in the housing. The housing can include an interior speaker thatcauses the housing to resonate for voice and buzzer applications.Several antenna are embedded in the housing, one for Bluetooth, anotherfor cellular radio. There may be multiple antenna for cellular radio ondifferent frequency bands, or the antenna may be articulated to allowuse at multiple frequencies for receiving and transmission.

As shown in FIG. 34B, device 3401 is perforated with a slot for alanyard or belt 3412. Other means for attaching a device to an asset areknown in the art. The attachment hardware can be adapted to use forattaching the device to a container or package. The device includesbuckles for use on a lanyard and an OLED display 3402 with microphoneand speaker for audiovisual communications as well as data logging.

FIG. 35 is a view of an XCB device 3500 worn as a wrist strap 3512 thatfunctions as a location and wayfinding monitor and messaging center. Thedevice has voice and display capability for cellular and BT voice anddata networking, and incorporates a speaker 3503 and display 3502. Thecircuitry includes a microphone, voice encoder for voice transmission,and tactile buttons as part of a voice and touch user interface.Separate audio codecs are supplied for higher quality. The chipset caninclude a Monarch controller (Sequans, Paris FR) with integrated LTEmodem. RAM memory for use in data logging is adapted as a buffer foraudio/video transmission or separate memory and buffering is provided.Options may include a Satnav positioning module and a recharging circuitwith external power supply, which may include for example a connectorfor a USB power cord. The device may also include a DSP for recognizingvoice patterns, but voice recognition interfaces have increasingly beenrealized as a system service and are implemented on a system level, notas extra hardware that must be supported onboard the device. In oneembodiment, a CEVA (Mountain View Calif.) Bluetooth BTLE or BTDM RFfront end is combined with a Monarch (Sequans, Paris FR) cellular modemin which the BT radio controls of the power state of both chips via theprocessor. In another embodiment, an AeroFONE single-chip core from NPXSemiconductor may be combined with BT radio. USB ports 3504,3506 areconfigured for power or data connections.

The display 3502 on a device of this kind enables mixed mediacommunication on a small screen. By also including a camera (not shown),higher functions (such as recognition of QR codes, biometric securityfeatures, and capturing photographs or videos) can be enabled, but theenergy and buffering requirements for broadband capture, storage ortransmission of images may preclude many of these uses in the smallestcoin-sized devices. Devices without a camera can be simplified tooperate on a lower energy budget but to supply a powerful tool forcommunicating with a user. The kinds of data that can be sent to adevice with a display include QR codes that can be read by remotemachines, text messages, machine-readable icons, pictures of faces,statistics, biographical information, biometrics, emojis that accompanyvoice messages, maps, directions, instructions in graphical form,animations, plots, graphs, decorative images, and so forth, any of whichcan be presented on a display screen without a need for a camera andassociated processing power.

An NFC antenna on the underside adds the capacity for Tap-to-Pay andTap-to-Connect. Qi charging is also envisaged. Devices of this kind aredescribed further in U.S. Prov. Pat. Appl. No. 62/968,105, which isco-owned and is incorporated herein by reference for all it teaches.

Example I: Mobile Voice Hub

FIG. 36 is a view of a compact XCB mobile device for providing locationmanagement services with a natural language voice interface. In thisexemplary embodiment, owner/subscriber 11 can communicate using aninteractive voice interface through XCB devices 3600. Devices include aspeaker with resonant voicebox, a microphone or microphones in anoise-cancelling array, and audio codexes for processing speech viaradio. The communication can be conducted by an automated cloud host onone end and a human on the other, or can be a human-to-humaninteraction. The user can conduct a conversation with an intelligentmachine analogous to voice-actuated user interfaces such as GoogleAssistant, Bixby and Alexa that are becoming more widely implemented inconsumer electronics. The response back to the device can be as simpleas a beep in acknowledgement of a button press, or can be a decorous“thank you,” a “bien sur”, or a “do itashimashite”, depending on thenative language of the user.

The speaker and microphone array may optionally be contained in acircular, geodesic, prolate spheroid, or spherical acoustic housing.U.S. Pat. No. RE47,049 to Li teaches a dynamic microphone array forimproved voice recognition. US Pat. Nos. U.S. Pat. No. 7,177,798 to Hsuand U.S. Pat. No. 6,766,320 to Wang teach methods for natural languagequery and response interactions. These patent documents are incorporatedin full by reference. Reference hub 20 may include a natural languageinterface incorporating cloud-based speech recognition and response, forexample. A DSP (not shown) may be incorporated in the circuitry forrecognizing basic wake words, for example. Mobile devices 10 may alsoinclude a natural language interface incorporating cloud-based speechrecognition and response, for example.

Any interactive response can lead to further assistance, or to a two-wayconversation between an owner/administrator and for example a communitymember who found the lost object or pet and pressed the button.Typically a message might be, in the case of a child with wristradiotag, dog or cat wearing a radio collar, or a lost asset thatcarries an attached radiotag, “Your child/asset/pet has been found . . .and here is the location where the pet is now [ . . . see displayedmap], for example.” Arrangements can then be made to recover the/pet, orthe owner can simply go to the spot and repeat the process of refiningthe current location until the animal is within reach. Extended voiceinteractions may be offered as part of the Cellular Remote LocatorServices Toolkit.

The Bluetooth Proximity Locator Services Toolkit is valuable for findingconcealed objects if needed. The back and forth allows for directcommunication and speeds recovery. Items such as keys, jackets, purses,vehicles, valuables of any kind that can have an attached finder device,are readily tracked if lost. In an important application, children whohave strayed can be re-united with their parents or teacher using thissystem. Also, using machine learning, devices that are about to be lostand children or pets who are about to stray can also be detected andpreventative interventions taken by the system. The object of a smartsystem that can detect a lost child/asset/pet scenario before the ownerknows the child/asset/pet is lost is realized by this system whencombined with BT radio topology awareness, radio contact record dataaggregation, and machine learning.

The promise of the IoT is a sea of information that empowers people tomanage their lives. By incorporating XCB polyradio capacity in aportable device, we realize a platform for tracking, finding, andsensing that can provision itself with location data. This device can beused as a data logger for collecting all kinds of information—includingthe surrounding BT radio topology—that a cloud host can then use tosteer events to a successful outcome without user intervention, or tonotify the user of the need for intervention, such as by flagging a lostitem status before the owner knows it is lost. The computing resourcesonboard an XCB radiotag may be limited, but radio contact logscontaining location and sensor data, when uplinked, can power thecomputing resources of the cloud for the benefit of communities.

Location of a radiotag is readily determined by GPS or bynetwork-assisted location service, for example, and the location isreadily acquired by a system administrative host. In some instances, BTtopology has the characteristics that allow a location call to be madeby the device or the system. If needed, the owner/subscriber can requesta location fix of the radiotag from the system host. If the XCB deviceis not awake and in a cellular paging window, the device can becontacted via its “always listening” BT radio with minimal latency. Ifthe radiotag is not in a familiar radio environment, then a proxysmartphone or hub operated by an anonymous user of a community of users,in response to a BT advertising signal from the lost radiotag, willalert the system administrative host that the radiotag has beendetected, and the system will acquire a location and notify the owner.This community approach is termed the “Community Open Arbors” system,analogous to a living forest in which branches, trunks and roots enableintercommunication between trees and leaves as nodes.

Ultimately, the XCB device of an embodiment works out of box with nosetup. Autoprovisioning involves first actuation to find the cloud hostvia the cellular network. Subsequently, power management can be througha Bluetooth chip, for example.

Example II: Device with NFC “Tap-2-Connect”

FIGS. 37A, 37B and 37C are plan and elevation views of an XCB radiotag.The radiotags 10 a are discoid in shape with a diameter of about 4 cmand a thickness of about 8 mm. The upper case include an actuationswitch 15 a and the lower wall has an inlaid LED 18 that functions aspart of the user interface and can also serve as a flashlight, such asis useful on a keychain in a dark parking lot. A tab on the bezelincludes an annulet 16 a for mounting the radiotag to an asset such as akeychain. The devices are inductively rechargeable and sealed. Setup andwireless synchronization and data services are achieved using thecellular, BT and NFC radios inside. These devices also include a SIMcard or embedded SIM for authentication to a cellular network. Ascurrently practiced, a virtual private gateway (VPG) with private IPaddress is used to connect the cellular modem to the network. For setup,a “tap-2-connect” scheme may be used, for example, by which the NFCradio of the radiotag, when in radio proximity to a smartphone havingthe required software, causes a link to be opened to a web server andthe server handles registration of the devices. After initiating thedevice by pressing the actuation switch 15 a, the case can be tapped onthe smartphone, and an NFC carrier wave initiated by the tap engages anNFC transceiver in the smartphone. Authentication data and setup dataare exchanged. NFC is used to bootstrap a higher bandwidth radio, suchas the BT or the cellular radio of the XCB radiotag. The smartphone mayuse WiFi to connect to the cloud server, for example, or the XCBradiotag can make a direct cellular connection once it receives theneeded control channel packets. User account information may besynchronized with user data already on file and the authentication ismade with the smartphone in order to link the radiotag to the user'saccount. Once setup is completed, direct cellular network connectivityis established. The setup may also include updating software, firmware,network settings, and any information that the user wants entered toassociate the radiotag with a particular smart object, such as a child,a pet, a backpack, camera or other asset.

A cloud host is used to provide subscription lost-and-found services.FIG. 37D indicates some of the subscription services available, whichcan include biometrics telemetry from a mammal to which the radiotag issecured, real time tracking, establishment of safe zones enforced byradio tethers (as described earlier), tracking history, extrapolation ofdestination, detection of an escape from a geofenced area,community-supported lost asset recovery, voice interaction services, anda handy find phone utility that lets the actuation switch 15 a on theradiotag cause your smartphone to ring so that you can quickly locate itif misplaced in the house.

Several levels of tracking services may be provided, each with adifferent expected battery life on a single charge. These are estimatesbased on balanced radio usage and latency for the cellular and/or BTradio modems. The “Dynamic Tracking” mode, which updates location at acentral server every 30 to 90 minutes, is recommended for most routineuse, but in the event of a lost smart object, the devices can beupgraded to uplink data every 4-8 min in an “Emergency Tracking” mode.Lower power tracking provides updates every 4-6 hours, and for maximumbattery life (up to 1 year) a BT only tracking regimen is supplied. Eachof the cellular plans is associated with radio parameters for EDRX andPSM, and can be modified anytime the radiotag opens a network connectionin a paging window. As described earlier, the BT radio and sensorpackage, including motion and heading sensors, can trigger a CALL HOMEduring which the power savings parameters can be reset. Also, biometricdata can be linked to a CALL HOME. And with learning, the device canrecognize when it is lost, before the owner knows it is lost, bymonitoring other BT radio traffic topology in its environment and usingstrangeness and familiarity indices to build situational awareness intoits power management routines. The actuator button 15 a can also cause acellular connection to be initiated, or a tap by an NFC-enabledsmartphone will actuate a network connection.

FIG. 37E provides a screenshot of the tracking application on asmartphone, showing the location of one or more XCB radiotags on a mapof a city. By using a combination of BT and cellular, very large areasof the planet can be scanned for a missing radiotag and the preciseposition pinpointed and displayed on a map, with the capacity to scalein and get directions for recovering the lost smart object.

The XCB radiotag need not be a standalone device, but in some instancesmay be embedded directly in a smart object and receive power from thesmart object.

Example III: “Tap-2-Connect” Finder Management Services

FIG. 38 shows a flow chart for the steps of a “Tap-2-Connect” foundrecovery method 3800 effected by a cloud host in cooperation with an XCBradiotag and the smartphone of a passerby.

In an initial step 3801, a passerby will discover a lost smart objecthaving an attached or embedded XCB radiotag unit. On inspection, theradiotag will be found to provide instructions for making a notificationto a lost-and-found recovery service. Generally, this will be anautomated system operated as a cloud server. While it is possible toinitiate a link to the cloud server by scanning a QR code on theradiotag, for example, a more direct initiation involves tapping asmartphone to the radiotag 3802, optionally first activating theradiotag by pressing a switch 15,15 a on the front face. The NFC fieldof the radiotag is recognized by an NFC reader of the smartphone, and alimited amount of data is exchanged over the NFC connection. The dataincludes a deep intent link to the cloud server's webpage and causes thesmartphone to be taken to the webpage. Also transmitted is identifyingdata that can be used to look up the radiotag and pull up a userprofile. And the initial NFC link is escalated to a WLAN connection by abootstrapping process that is managed by an App in the smartphone or isdownloaded from the cloud server and installed on demand when thewebsite is accessed. The escalated WLAN connection can be via the BTradio, via a WiFi radio, or can be a direct cellular connection throughthe smartphone of the passerby, using BT to link the radiotag into thecall. The net effect is that the cloud server will list the radiotag ashaving been found 3803 and can notify the owner. The cloud server canalso, for example, offer a reward 3804 to the passerby for assistance ingetting the lost smart object back to its owner. Assistance can be assimple as entering into a conversation with the owner to makearrangements to meet, for example. Or obtaining a mailing address. Thenature of the services 3805 is dependent on the goodwill of the passerbyand the nature of the lost smart object. If the radiotag is attached toa child, for example, the police can assist. Pets also can receiveassistance from authorities, and in some instances, an arrangement canbe made to leave the smart object at a pre-arranged shop where the ownercan go by and pick it up. The net effect is that the community canextend the search network to find a lost radiotag, and the XCB radiotagcan facilitate or enable itself to be reunited with its true owner 3806by engaging a cloud server directly or indirectly.

Minor variations in the method, for example use of a physical tap of asmartphone on actuation switch 15 a triggers an accelerometric signal toactuate an NFC pulse link with the smartphone, and in other variants, aQR code is provided on the box or on the radiotag and causes the user tolower the smartphone near the radiotag so that the NFC link can beestablished when the QR code (or equivalent) is read by the smartphonecamera.

Example IV: QI Pad (NFC Option)

FIG. 39 is a view of an ensemble of XCB radiotags with a smartphone on aQi charging pad having dimensions of about 22×12 cm and a fewmillimeters thick. The pad allows for charging of three XCB radiotagsalong with the phone simultaneously and is for home use. The pad canalso include provision for autosynchronization of data to an externalserver via one or more radios built into the pad. In future releases, anNFC pad having the capacity to charge the system will be used so as toalso achieve data transfer over the NFC pulse connection. Data transferis useful for example in synchronizing calendars, contact lists, andnetwork settings. Each NFC radio is configured to enable escalation of anetwork connection to one of the higher bandwidth radios of thepoly-radio devices; for example an NFC interrogatory can trigger setupand/or activation of a BT radio link with the NFC paired device, or acellular link as a CALL HOME to a cellular base station. NFCinterrogatory pulses can also trigger setup or activation of a WiFiconnection with a home reference hub, for example.

Example V: Cold Chain Data Logging

As shown in FIGS. 40A and 40B, these devices may also be used for datalogging. Cold-chain tracking is performed by attaching a radiotag 10with temperature sensor to an asset in need of temperature monitoring.Here, data logging of temperature 4000 follows a shipment from Seattleto Chicago 4001. A failure of the coolant system occurs at timepoint4003, as is evident from a sudden increase to room temperature in thedata.

The radiotag is attached in a way so as to be thermally connected to theasset such that the temperature sensed by the radiotag is meaningful inassessing a corresponding temperature condition of the shipment/asset.The radiotag serves as a “data logger” for recording the sensedtemperature as a function of time and optionally as a function oflocation and is able to report the data wirelessly. The processor of theradiotag is set up to perform routine cyclical temperature measurementsand store the data in a table in flash memory. A simple user interface4004 allows the user to select a variety of display formats for data.

The raw digital data records are simple in structure. Each recordincludes a TIMESTAMP, a radio unit ID (RUI) for the source radiotagdevice 10, the LOCATION where the data was collected, and one or morefields for sensor data DATA1 and DATA2, for example. In each record,sensor data is paired with a timestamp and a geostamp.

Using M2M data sharing protocols, the radiotag can establish a cellularnetwork connection to report the data on a schedule, when a sensor datumis out of range, or when interrogated by a radiotag reader such as asmartphone with an installed software application configured to read thetags. To initiate a query in BT radio proximity, the tag readertransmits an inquiry to the BT radiotag, escalates the inquiry to a PAGEusing standard Bluetooth methods, and develops a connection link withthe radiotag whereby digital radio data exchange occurs. A button presson the radiotag may also be used to initiate a pairing or bonding of theradiotag and the tag reader. At greater distances, the radiotag may becaused to initialize the cellular modem for transmission of tabulateddata across a cellular network, where the data is a chronology oftemperature measurements that includes geostamp.

Location can be obtain using any of the cellular tools described here,including AGPS and PoLTE, for example, or BT mapping, and uploads ofdata can be triggered by sensor data, by proximity to a smart deviceconfigured as a reader, at pre-provisioned destinations, or on aschedule established by the network, for example. The upload can betransferred from a tag reader to a cloud host. A single upload when apackage is delivered may be sufficient if all is well, but the radiotagcan request network access at any point en route if there is a deviationfrom a preset temperature range as configured in software or firmware.By limiting the frequency of cellular network calls, the duration ofsensor monitoring is extended without loss of data.

The data can be collected at regular intervals and uploadeddiscontinuously. For economy of storage and transmission, the data canbe pruned by binning time intervals with temperatures that are withinexpected limits, but itemizing intervals where temperatures were outsideexpected limits, either too cold or too hot. An excursion of temperaturesensor data output outside of threshold limits can trigger an upload ona cellular channel and can result in interventions by the systemoperator and/or notifications to the customer.

Example VI: Cellular Radio Power Consumption

FIG. 41 reproduces an oscilloscope image of instantaneous powerconsumption during a connection event followed by a series of pagingopportunities in DRX mode of a cellular modem. This picture represents afull TAU cycle with a series of brief paging opportunities by eDRXevents on the right of the WAKE, authentication and synchronizationroutine that appears as a series of steps in the plot on the left, eachwith higher power consumption. The device is controlled by a Monarchseries processor with integrated LTE RF front end (Sequans, Paris FR).

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All of the U.S. Patents, U.S. Patent application publications, U.S.Patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications andnon-patent publications referred to in this specification and relatedfilings are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for allpurposes.

SCOPE OF THE CLAIMS

The disclosure set forth herein of certain exemplary embodiments,including all text, drawings, annotations, and graphs, is sufficient toenable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention.Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents are possible, aswill readily occur to those skilled in the art in practice of theinvention. The inventions, examples, and embodiments described hereinare not limited to particularly exemplified materials, methods, and/orstructures and various changes may be made in the size, shape, type,number and arrangement of parts described herein. All embodiments,alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be combined to providefurther embodiments of the present invention without departing from thetrue spirit and scope of the invention.In general, in the following claims, the terms used in the writtendescription should not be construed to limit the claims to specificembodiments described herein for illustration, but should be construedto include all possible embodiments, both specific and generic, alongwith the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.Accordingly, the claims are not limited in haec verba by the disclosure.

1. A microcontroller-based finding and tracking device with Bluetoothradio modem and antenna and cellular radio modem and antenna, whichcomprises a direct logic output from an output pin of the Bluetoothradio modem to a wake pin of the cellular radio modem.
 2. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the direct logic output from the Bluetooth radio modemto the wake pin of the cellular modem bypasses the microcontroller ofthe device.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the Bluetooth radio modemis configured to discover bitstrings of Bluetooth transmissions over aspread spectrum that includes a plurality of advertising channels anddata channels without executing an inquiry scan or a page scan.
 4. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the Bluetooth radio modem includes firmwareconfigured to discover bitstrings of Bluetooth transmissions in the rawsignal received from the antenna and to report at least a part of anydiscovered Bluetooth bitstring in a record entered into a radio contactlog in memory without executing an inquiry scan or a page scan.
 5. Thedevice of claim 4, wherein the microcontroller is configured to reportthe contents of the radio contact log to a cloud host as a snapshot ofthe Bluetooth radio envelope around the device.
 6. The device of claim4, wherein the microcontroller is configured to report the contents ofthe radio contact log in one or more data packets transmitted over acellular network as a snapshot of the Bluetooth radio envelope aroundthe device.
 7. The device of claim 5, which comprises software orfirmware instructions configured to calculate a strangeness index fromthe ratio of bitstrings detected on advertising channels versusbitstrings detected on data channels in a snapshot, and to execute anotification to a user or a cloud host if the strangeness index risesabove a threshold.
 8. The device of claim 4, which comprises acorrelator for recognizing whitelisted Bluetooth bitstrings.
 9. Thedevice of claim 8, wherein the Bluetooth radio modem is configured torecord a received signal strength index (RSSI) for each whitelistedBluetooth bitstring in the radio contact log.
 10. The device of claim 9,which comprises software or firmware instructions configured to executea network-assisted location fix if the RSSI of a transmitter associatedwith a whitelisted Bluetooth bitstring drops below −100 dBm and arequest from the device, directed to the transmitter, to increasetransmission power is not acknowledged.
 11. The device of claim 9,comprising software or firmware instructions configured to execute acellular network notification to a user or a cloud host if the RSSI of atransmitter associated with a whitelisted Bluetooth bitstring dropsbelow −100 dBm and a request from the device, directed to thetransmitter, to increase transmission power is not acknowledged.
 12. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the cellular modem comprises software orfirmware instructions configured to execute a network-assisted locationfix in response to a logic signal received at the wake pin from theBluetooth modem.
 13. The device of claim 12, wherein the microcontrollerhas software or firmware configured store the location fix as a waypointin memory.
 14. The device of claim 4, which comprises memory for storingrecords of radio contacts as a snapshot of the Bluetooth radio envelopearound the device.
 15. The device of claim 14, wherein the memorycomprises a rolling stack of radio contact records in which each newestrecord displaces the oldest record, the rolling stack defining asnapshot of recent radio traffic.
 16. The device of claim 15, whichcomprises a programmable timer that causes execution of a transmissionof the snapshot to a cloud host for analysis at a regular interval. 17.The device of claim 16, wherein the programmable timer powers an eDRXpaging window cycle of cellular network connections between the cellularmodem of the device and a cloud host.
 18. The device of claim 17,wherein the paging window cycle is linked to a network assisted locationfix and the location fix is stored on the device. 19-42. (canceled) 43.The device of claim 4, wherein the Bluetooth radio modem is configuredto map received Bluetooth bitstrings to a radio contact record databaseand the device is configured to transmit the database in packetized formfor transmission over an IP packet network.
 44. (canceled)
 45. Thedevice of claim 1, which comprises a heading sensor having a multi-axisgyroscope, magnetometer, and accelerometer coupled to a directionalmotion analyzer. 46-50. (canceled)
 51. The device of claim 3, whichcomprises a digital correlator enabled to match the pattern of anincoming digital radio signal to a repertoire of qualified wake signalsthat, when matched, cause the Bluetooth modem to generate an output tothe wake pin of the cellular modem.
 52. The device of claim 1,comprising a multi-threaded microcontroller.
 53. The device of claim 1,wherein the Bluetooth modem is configured to adjust signal gainaccording to an instruction protocol executable by the microcontroller.